Language Of Confusion: Maximum Carnage, Part V

Last part! Not quite as long as the last one, because there aren’t as many words that come from the Proto Indo European root sker-, to cut. Still a bunch, though.

 
First we’re going to look at scabbard, yes, the sheathe for a sword. It showed up in the fourteenth century as scauberc, which soon morphed into the -ard ending. It’s from the Anglo French escauberc, from the Proto Germanic sker-berg-, with the sker- part coming from skar, blade, which is from sker-. The berg part actually means protect, so a scabbard is a blade-protect. And for the record, scab is not related at all, in spite of it making sense that it would be descended from the same place.

 
Next is skirmish, which… I guess it can involve cutting. It showed up in the late fourteenth century as a noun and around that time for the verb—funny enough, before that, the verb was just to skirm. It’s actually from the Old French escarmouche, which got to us from the Proto Germanic skirmjanan, which is from sker-. The word scrimmage is actually from skirmish, being an alteration of it. Fairly sensible, right? Ha ha, keep reading. Screen showed up in the mid fourteenth century from the Old North French escren/Old French escran. That’s thought to be from (somehow) skirmjanan, a word that’s related to protection. A screen originally was something that “protected” from light. Sure, whatever.
 
Then there’s skirt. Yes, like you wear—and also like the back half of outskirt, as they’re from the same place. And that place is the word shirt. Shirt is from the Old English scyrte, while skirt is actually from the Old Norse skyrta, but both are from the Proto Germanic skurtjon, and they’re from sker-. I guess because you cut fabric, whether it be for the upper body or lower body? Still though.
 
Finally today, short, because things just aren’t weird enough. It’s from the Old English scort, which just means short, and before that the Proto Germanic skurta-, which is from sker-. I guess short things are something that’s been cut off. I feel vaguely offended at that.
 
Sources
Online Etymology Dictionary
Omniglot
University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center
University of Texas at San Antonio’s page on Proto Indo European language
University of Texas at Arlington
Tony Jebson’s page on the Origins of Old English
Old English-English Dictionary
Fordham University