Etymograph

English

screen

Screen comes from Anglo-Norman escren ‘firescreen’, from Middle Dutch scherm, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz ‘shelter, covering’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skirmiz1‘fur, shelter, covering, screen’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skirmi1reconstructed
  4. Old Dutchc. 500–1150skirm1
  5. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500scherm1
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400escren1‘firescreen’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scren1
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606screen1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English screen
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Your leavy screens throw down.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, English screen‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skirmizWiktionary, English screen‘fur, shelter, covering, screen’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skirmiWiktionary, English screenreconstructed
  4. Old Dutchc. 500–1150skirmWiktionary, English screen
  5. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500schermWiktionary, English screen
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400escrenWiktionary, English screen‘firescreen’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500screnWiktionary, English screen
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606screenWiktionary, English screen. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Your leavy screens throw down.”

The story

An alternative etymology derives Old French escren, escran from Old Dutch *scranc (‘barrier’) (compare Middle Dutch schranc, schranke (‘palisade, trellis, grid’), German Schrank (‘cupboard, cabinet’), German Schranke (‘fence’)), from Proto-West Germanic *skrank, from Proto-Germanic *skrankaz.

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, shred, 124 more

Today it means

noun A physical divider intended to block an area from view, or provide shelter from something dangerous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “screen”. 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- / screen

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