*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of screw

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.? Latin scrōfa Old French escrouebor. ▲ Old French escruveinflu. Middle English scrue English screw From Middle English screw, scrue (“screw”); apparently, despite the dif

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A simple machine, a helical inclined plane. · A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a partially or completely threaded shank, sometimes with a threaded point, and a head used to both hold the top material and to drive the screw either directly into a soft material or into a prepared hole. · A ship's propeller. · An Archimedes screw.

verb

To connect or assemble pieces using a screw. · To have sexual intercourse with. · To cheat someone or ruin their chances in a game or other situation. · To extort or practice extortion upon; to oppress by unreasonable or extortionate exactions; to put the screws on.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.? Latin scrōfa Old French escrouebor. ▲ Old French escruveinflu. Middle English scrue English screw From Middle English screw, scrue (“screw”); apparently, despite the difference in meaning, from Old French escroue (“nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole”), from Latin scrōfa (“female pig”) through comparison with the corkscrew shape of a pig's penis. There is also the Old French escruve (“screw”), from Old Dutch *scrūva ("screw"; whence Middle Dutch schruyve (“screw”)), which probably influenced or conflated with the aforementioned, resulting in the Middle English word. more on the etymology of screw Old French escroue (whence Medieval Latin scrofa (“nut, screwhole”)), is believed to be an adaptation of Latin scrōfa (“sow, female pig”); but this development is not found in other Romance languages. (For change in meaning, compare also Spanish puerca, Portuguese porca, both ‘sow; screw nut’, and is based on the fact that a boar's penis has a screw-like tip, making the sow's vulva equivalent to a screw nut by analogy). Old Dutch *scrūva possibly derives from Proto-Germanic *skrūbō (“screw”), from *skru- (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keru-, *(s)ker- (“to cut”), and is related to German Schraube (“screw”), Low German schruve, schruwe (“screw”), Dutch schroef (“screw”), West Frisian skroef (“screw”), Danish skrue (“screw”), Swedish skruv (“screw, peg”), Icelandic skrúfa (“screw”). Compare also Occitan escrofa (“screw nut”), Calabrese scrufina (“screw nut”), which may be borrowings of the Old French word, or parallel developments.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 20 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:scrue",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.?\nLatin scrōfa\nOld French escrouebor.\n▲\nOld French escruveinflu.\nMiddle English scrue\nEnglish screw\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*(s)krebʰ-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"scrōfa\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"escroue\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"influ.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Influenced by\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"escruve\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"influence\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"scrue\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"screw\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"screw\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English screw"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "escroue",
        "t": "nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French escroue (“nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "scrōfa",
        "4": "",
        "5": "female pig"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin scrōfa (“female pig”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fro",
        "2": "escruve",
        "t": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French escruve (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "odt",
        "3": "*scrūva"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Dutch *scrūva"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "schruyve",
        "t": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch schruyve (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"screw\"; whence Middle Dutch <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"dum\">schruyve</i> (“screw”)"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"screw\"; whence Middle Dutch schruyve (“screw”))"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "more on the etymology of screw"
      },
      "expansion": "more on the etymology of screw"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la-med",
        "2": "scrofa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "nut, screwhole"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin scrofa (“nut, screwhole”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "scrōfa",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sow, female pig"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin scrōfa (“sow, female pig”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "es",
        "2": "puerca"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish puerca"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
        "2": "porca"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese porca"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*skrūbō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *skrūbō (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(s)keru-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)keru-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schraube",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schraube (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "schruve"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German schruve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "schroef",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch schroef (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "skroef",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian skroef (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "skrue",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish skrue (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "skruv",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw, peg"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish skruv (“screw, peg”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "skrúfa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic skrúfa (“screw”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "oc",
        "2": "escrofa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "screw nut"
      },
      "expansion": "Occitan escrofa (“screw nut”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:scrue",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.?\nLatin scrōfa\nOld French escrouebor.\n▲\nOld French escruveinflu.\nMiddle English scrue\nEnglish screw"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*(s)krebʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)krebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "scrōfa",
      "scrofa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "escroue",
      "escroue#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "escruve",
      "escruve#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "scrue",
      "scrue#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "screw",
      "screw#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "scrue",
      "scrue#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "escroue",
      "escroue#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "scrōfa",
      "scrofa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "escruve",
      "escruve#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*scrūva",
      "Reconstruction:Old Dutch/scruva"
    ],
    [
      "Middle Dutch",
      "w:Middle Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "schruyve",
      "schruyve#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "escroue",
      "escroue#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "scrofa",
      "scrofa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "scrōfa",
      "scrofa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "puerca",
      "puerca#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "porca",
      "porca#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "boar",
      "boar"
    ],
    [
      "vulva",
      "vulva"
    ],
    [
      "analogy",
      "analogy"
    ],
    [
      "*scrūva",
      "Reconstruction:Old Dutch/scruva"
    ],
    [
      "*skrūbō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skrūbō"
    ],
    [
      "*skru-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skru-"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)keru-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)keru-"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)ker-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)ker-"
    ],
    [
      "Schraube",
      "Schraube#German"
    ],
    [
      "schruve",
      "schruve#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "schruwe",
      "schruwe#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "schroef",
      "schroef#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "skroef",
      "skroef#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "skrue",
      "skrue#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "skruv",
      "skruv#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "skrúfa",
      "skrúfa#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "escrofa",
      "escrofa#Occitan"
    ],
    [
      "scrufina",
      "scrufina#Italian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A simple machine, a helical inclined plane.",
        "A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a partially or completely threaded shank, sometimes with a threaded point, and a head used to both hold the top material and to drive the screw either directly into a soft material or into a prepared hole.",
        "A ship's propeller.",
        "An Archimedes screw."
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To connect or assemble pieces using a screw.",
        "To have sexual intercourse with.",
        "To cheat someone or ruin their chances in a game or other situation.",
        "To extort or practice extortion upon; to oppress by unreasonable or extortionate exactions; to put the screws on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "ambitransitive",
        "slang",
        "vulgar"
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 20,
    "glosses": 0
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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 screw →

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-c2NyZXc