*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of scree

Probably a back-formation from screes, from Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”); compare skríða (“to glide”) (from Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-, *(s)k

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Loose stony debris on a slope. · Similar debris made up of broken building material such as bricks, concrete, etc. · A slope made up of scree at the base of a cliff, mountain, etc.

verb

To traverse scree downhill.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably a back-formation from screes, from Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”); compare skríða (“to glide”) (from Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-, *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)). The word is cognate with Icelandic skriða (“avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "back-formation",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "screes",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "back-formation from screes"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "skriða",
        "4": "",
        "5": "landslide, landslip"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*skrīþaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to crawl; to glide; to walk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(s)kreyt-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "skriða",
        "3": "",
        "4": "avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic skriða (“avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "screes",
      "screes#English"
    ],
    [
      "skriða",
      "skriða#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "skríða",
      "skríða#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*skrīþaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skrīþaną"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)kreyt-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)kreyt-"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)ker-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)ker-"
    ],
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      "skriða",
      "skriða#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Loose stony debris on a slope.",
        "Similar debris made up of broken building material such as bricks, concrete, etc.",
        "A slope made up of scree at the base of a cliff, mountain, etc."
      ],
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    },
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      "pos": "verb",
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        "To traverse scree downhill."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A harsh, high-pitched sound or cry (as of a hawk).

verb

To make a high-pitched cry like that of a hawk.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Onomatopoeic. However, some connection to a lost dialect term (Old Norse influence? cf. shriek, screech) from Old English sċrēon is not impossible.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
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        "1": "onomatopoeic",
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        "2": "non",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "3": "sċrēon"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "shriek",
      "shriek#English"
    ],
    [
      "screech",
      "screech#English"
    ],
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      "sċrēon",
      "screon#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To flatten or level concrete while still wet, and remove protruding gravel and stones from the surface.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

A variant of screed.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "links": [
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  ],
  "references": [],
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    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To flatten or level concrete while still wet, and remove protruding gravel and stones from the surface."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

A coarse sieve.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Apparently from screen.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    }
  ],
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      "screen",
      "screen#English"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for scree →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c2NyZWU