Etymology

scribble

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Today it means: To write or draw carelessly and in a hurry. Full definition →

Middle English scriblen ← Latin scrībillō
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scribble · verb, noun1

  1. Latin · derived fromscrībillō
  2. Middle English · inherited fromscriblen
  3. English todayscribble

From Middle English scriblen, from (1) scrīben + -le and/or (2) Latin scrībillō (found in conscrībillō), from cōnscrībō, from scrībō (“write”), equivalent to scribe + -le (frequentative suffix).

scribble · verb2

  1. Dutch · derived fromschribbelen“to scratch”
  2. English todayscribble

From Dutch schribbelen (“to scratch”), from Middle Dutch schrobben (“to scrub, scrape, scratch”), variant of schrapen, schrappen. Related to scrub.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.