Etymograph

English

sketch

Sketch may come from Dutch schets.

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentschets1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1879sketch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sketch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentschetsWiktionary, English sketchuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1879sketchWiktionary, English sketch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- ‘to overpower’

school, severe, scholar, severity, hector, perseverance, scholastic, schema, shul, 23 more

through Ancient Greek ἔχω ‘to hold’

hectic, epoch, 6 more

Today it means

verb To make a brief, basic drawing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sketch”. 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 / Dutch schets / sketch

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