English
scribble
Scribble comes from Latin scrībillō ‘to scribble or write of trivial matters’, from cōnscrībō ‘to enroll or enlist, levy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, to tear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kreybʰ-1‘to scratch, to tear’root named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰeti2reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβō3‘to carve’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībō1‘write’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnscrībō1‘to enroll or enlist, levy’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībillō1‘to scribble or write of trivial matters’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scrīben1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scriblen1
- Englishtodayscribble1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English scribble
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *skreiβō
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin scribo
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kreybʰ-Wiktionary, English scribble‘to scratch, to tear’root named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰetiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *skreiβōreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβōWiktionary, Latin scribo‘to carve’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībōWiktionary, English scribble‘write’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnscrībōWiktionary, English scribble‘to enroll or enlist, levy’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībillōWiktionary, English scribble‘to scribble or write of trivial matters’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scrībenWiktionary, English scribble
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scriblenWiktionary, English scribble
- EnglishtodayscribbleWiktionary, English scribble
Formed from scribe + -le
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, to tear’
Old French scribe
Middle English scribe
English scribe
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti
through Proto-Italic *skreiβō ‘to carve’
prescription, scripture, transcript, inscription, shriver, scriptural, nondescript, descript, 28 more
through Latin scrībō ‘write’
description, script, prescribe, transcribe, shrift, ascribe, scrivener, inscribe, 34 more
through Latin cōnscrībō ‘to enroll or enlist, levy’
Today it means
verb To write or draw carelessly and in a hurry.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “scribble”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *skreiβō, Latin scribo. 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)kreybʰ- / scribble