Etymograph

English

self-scan

From self- + scan.

Formed from self- + scan

Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-

Proto-Germanic *selbaz ‘self’

Proto-Germanic *selba-

English self-

Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump, dart, climb, scale, scan’

Proto-Italic *skandō

Latin scandō ‘to climb, rise, mount’

Middle English scanden ‘to scan verse’

Middle English scanne ‘to mark off verse to show metrical structure’

English scan

Today it means

noun An electronic system in a supermarket etc. allowing customers to scan the barcodes on their purchases and pay for them without the need for a cashier.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “self-scan”. 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 / self-scan