scrabble

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to scratch or grope hurriedly, especially with the hands

   She scrabbled in her bag for the lost keys.

Simplified etymology

Scrabble dates from the mid-16th century and comes from early Dutch schrabben, “to scrape.” It first meant “to scrawl or scribble” and acquired the sense “scratch or grope about” later in the 16th century; the board-game name was registered as a trademark in 1950.

From Dutch schrabbelen ('to scratch repeatedly'), the frequentative of schrabben ('to scratch'), of Proto-Germanic origin and related to scrape.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary