Etymology

perscrutate

P3E1R1S1C3R1U1T1A1T1E1

Today it means: To scrutinize, peruse, inspect (something). Full definition →

First used mid-17th c.Latin perscrūtātus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromperscrūtātus
  2. English todayperscrutate

Either a back-formation from perscrutation, or directly from Latin perscrūtātus, perfect passive participle of perscrūtor (“to search”). Earliest known use is from 1663 (see quotations).

First known use, by meaning

  • from mid-17th c. To scrutinize, peruse, inspect (something).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.