## Etymology
Late 16th century, of uncertain origin; possibly an alteration of 'scrawl' from 'crawl', or a blend influenced by 'sprawl' and 'scrabble'.

## AI Etymology
Scrawl is a late 16th century formation, of uncertain origin; possibly an alteration of 'scrawl' from 'crawl', or a blend influenced by 'sprawl' and 'scrabble'. The form is explicitly a blend, so its history depends on the joining of two already meaningful elements. As a verb and noun, it means "to write or draw in a hurried, careless, untidy way", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Derivative forms include scrawler, scrawled, scrawly; related words include scribble, scrabble.

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