scrawny

The story

1. Old Norse · derived fromskrælna“to be shrivelled”
2. Old Norse · derived fromskran“rubbish; junk”
3. English todayscrawny

A variant of dialectal scranny (“thin; lean; scraggy; poor; scanty; of inferior quality”), perhaps from Old Norse skran (“rubbish; junk”) + -y. Compare Norwegian skran (“lean, thin, skinny”), English scrannel (“lean; meager; poor; worthless”). Alternatively, perhaps from Old Norse skrælna (“to be shrivelled”).

Words from the same roots