Etymograph

English

shreward

Shreward comes from Middle English schreward ‘a scoundrel or malefactor’, from Old English sċrēawa ‘shrew’, 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’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrawwaz1‘a malevolent creature or spirit’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skrauwō1‘a malicious or malevolent creature’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrēawa1‘shrew’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrewe2‘scoundrel’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schreward2‘a scoundrel or malefactor’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1882shreward2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English schrewe
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English shreward
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1882, Edwin Guest, A history of English rhythms: “Good principles and fair manners, Them to teach to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Middle English schrewe‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrawwazWiktionary, Middle English schrewe‘a malevolent creature or spirit’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skrauwōWiktionary, Middle English schrewe‘a malicious or malevolent creature’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrēawaWiktionary, Middle English schrewe‘shrew’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schreweWiktionary, English shreward‘scoundrel’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrewardWiktionary, English shreward‘a scoundrel or malefactor’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1882shrewardWiktionary, English shreward. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1882, Edwin Guest, A history of English rhythms: “Good principles and fair manners, Them to teach to…”

Linked words

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

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

Today it means

noun A rascal; a scoundrel.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “shreward”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English schrewe. 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- / shreward

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