screwdriver

Etymology

It is formed from English screw + driver.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A tool for turning a screw into or out of its place: 1735, in the London Daily Post.^[2][6] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1779,^[3][7] and Dictionary.com to 1770–80.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline describes the early tool as being like a blunt chisel that fits into the nick in the head of a screw.^[3] From 1835 to 1908 the word was also used as a pun for a person who rode, bought or sold broken-down horses, after screw in the sense of a worn-out horse and the use of drive and driver of horses.^[2][6] The cocktail of vodka and orange juice is originally American and is recorded from 1948;^[2][6] Etymonline, which dates it to 1956, notes that screwed and screwy have meant drunk since the 19th century, and suggests that the idea may also be "twisted".^[3] In Australian and British prison slang a screwdriver was the chief officer, who drives the screws or warders under him.^[8] Green's dictionary cites it in a memoir set in the 1920s and in a 1990 Australian glossary.^[8]

Timeline

• 1735 – a tool for turning screws.^[2][6] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date this sense to 1779.^[3][7]
• 1835 – a person who rides or deals in broken-down horses (obsolete by 1908).^[2][6]
• 1948 – a cocktail of vodka and orange juice, originally American.^[2][6] Etymonline dates it to 1956.^[3]
• 1961 – in prison slang, a principal officer, in a memoir set in the 1920s.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tool for turning screws, with a handle and a metal shaft whose tip fits into the slot or recess in the head of the screw: He used a small screwdriver to open the battery cover.^[9][7][2]
2. A cocktail of vodka and orange juice, usually served with ice.^[9][7][2]
3. (Australian and British prison slang) A principal or chief prison officer.^[8]

Related words

• screw
• driver
• drive

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins