Etymograph

English

screed

Screed comes from Middle English schryden ‘fragment, scrap’, from Old English sċrȳdan ‘to clothe, to provide with clothes’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut off, sever’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdą2‘clothes, attire, dress’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdijaną3‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skrūdijan3‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrȳdan3‘to clothe, to provide with clothes’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schryden1as shrede‘fragment, scrap’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500screde1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1786screed1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English screed
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skrūdijaną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English schryden
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1786, Robert Burns, To W. S*****n, Ochiltree. May—1785: “Yet when a tale comes i' my head, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, English screed‘to cut off, sever’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skrūdijaną‘clothes, attire, dress’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdijanąWiktionary, Middle English schryden‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skrūdijanWiktionary, Middle English schryden‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrȳdanWiktionary, Middle English schryden‘to clothe, to provide with clothes’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrydenWiktionary, English screedas shrede‘fragment, scrap’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scredeWiktionary, English screed
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1786screedWiktionary, English screed. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1786, Robert Burns, To W. S*****n, Ochiltree. May—1785: “Yet when a tale comes i' my head, /…”

The story

The English word is cognate with Old Frisian skrēd.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’

short, card, across, share, cancer, cross, shirt, circle, circuit, score, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, cancellation, shrine, circa, scare, scar, corona, shear, incarceration, scrutiny, carnage, raffle, circulate, scorpion, carcinoma, corolla, crest, shard, carnal, cirque, riddance, circulatory, shrewd, scorn, 118 more

through Proto-Germanic *skrūdą ‘clothes, attire, dress’

shroud

Another origin of screed

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdą‘clothes, attire, dress’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrūdijaną‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skrūdijan‘to clothe, to dress, to adorn’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrȳdan‘to clothe, to provide with clothes’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrydenas shrede‘to chop, cut up, hack’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500screda
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500screde
  8. Englishtodayscreed

Today it means

noun A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “screed”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *skrūdijaną, Middle English schryden. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / screed

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