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scorer

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Etymology and origin of the English word scorer

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1394
From
Middle English scorer
Ultimate origin
Old Norse skor

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English scorer, from scoren (“to score”) and the agent suffix -er.[1][2][3][4] The verb score comes from Old Norse skora (“to make an incision, count by tallies”), from skor (“notch, tally, twenty”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A man who marked trees to be cut down: 1394, in the accounts of the Savoy, where le scorer appears in a Latin text.[3][1] Etymonline glosses the late 14th-century sense as one who makes notches.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the senses of the verb score.[4] From 1688 it named a tool for scoring,[3] from 1732 the person who keeps the record of the score in a game,[3][4] and since 1884 a player who makes a score.[3][4] In the 20th century it was also used of a person who marks the results of psychological tests (1922), a winner, especially of a horse race (1974), and, rarely, a composer of a film score (1969).[3]

Timeline

  • 1394 – one who marks trees for felling.[3][1]
  • 1688 – an instrument for scoring.[3]
  • 1732 – one who keeps the score in a game.[3][4]
  • 1884 – one who makes a score.[3][4]
  • 1922 – one who marks the results of tests.[3]
  • 1974 – a winner, especially of a horse race.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A player who scores goals, points or runs: the team's top scorer this season.[2][3]
  2. A person who keeps a record of the score in a game or contest; a scorekeeper.[2][3]
  3. A tool or machine used to score or crease a surface, as in woodwork or papermaking.[2][3]
  4. A logger who marks trees to be felled.[2][3][1]
  • scoreboard
  • score
  • scorekeeper

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Scorer.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/scorer. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·