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*(s)ker-

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Etymology and origin of the Proto-Indo-European word *(s)ker-

*(s)ker-1 to jump

Confidence
Uncertain

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 1.*(s)k/k̑er- "to jump, to swing", leaving open whether the stop was velar or palatal.[1] Beekes gives *sker- "jump" with a question mark and calls the etymology unclear.[2]

Morphology

LIV's only stem, an amphidynamic root present, is marked as uncertain; it could also be a root aorist.[1]

Evidence

The root rests on Greek and, less surely, a Welsh verb.[1][2]

Competing analyses

Beekes doubts the Welsh comparison.[2] Pokorny set up a root ker- "to spring, to turn" under (s)ker-,[3] and Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny derive many possible cognates of Latin curvus (“curved, bent”) from *(s)ker-.[4] Matasović still cites that root for Old Irish cor (“act of putting, a throw”), and calls the etymology conjectural.[5] De Vaan finds no verbal root *(s)kr- "to turn" behind curvus,[4] and Beekes doubts the comparison of Ancient Greek κυρτός (kurtós, “vaulted, rounded”) with curvus.[6]

Meanings

  1. to jump, to swing[1]

Reflexes

  • Greek: Ancient Greek σκαίρω (skaírō, “to hop, to jump, to dance”)[2]
  • Celtic: Welsh cerddaf (“I walk”), LIV's comparison, which Beekes doubts[1][2]

*(s)ker-2 to cut

Confidence
Established

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 2.*(s)ker- "to shear, to scratch, to cut off", a root without a laryngeal, beside *(s)kerH- "to separate", which differs in meaning.[7] Kümmel's addenda list the same stems under the heading 1.*(s)ker-.[8] Beekes writes *(s)ker- "to cut".[9]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs an amphidynamic root present *(s)kér-/(s)kr-, an s-aorist *(s)kḗr/(s)kér-s-, an iterative *(s)kor-éi̯e- and, with a question mark, a fientive *(s)kr-éh₁-.[7] Kümmel sets up a thematic present *(s)kér-e- instead, with a question mark, and treats Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “to cut off, to shave”) and the s-aorist as new formations.[8] Many roots may be extensions of this one, among them *kers-, *(s)kerdʰ-, *(s)kerp- and *(s)kert-.[7]

Evidence

LIV's forms come from Greek, Armenian, Germanic, Albanian, Slavic and, uncertainly, Anatolian.[7] Kümmel would perhaps add the Indo-Iranian verbs for "to make", for which the forms with s mobile speak.[8][10]

Competing analyses

LIV includes the Hittite verb "to sting, to stick" only as an innovation, and doubts the connection on semantic grounds;[7] Kloekhorst connects it with the Greek, Germanic, Celtic and Baltic verbs.[11] The Indo-Iranian "make" verbs may also belong to *kʷer-.[10] De Vaan prefers this root to *kʷer- for Latin curtus (“mutilated, circumcised”).[12] Kroonen reconstructs the Germanic word for "scissors" with a laryngeal, *skērH-ih₁.[13]

Meanings

  1. to shear, to scratch, to cut off[7]

Derivatives

  • Latin curtus (“mutilated, circumcised”), from *kr-to-[12]
  • Proto-Germanic *skēra- (“pair of scissors”)[13]
  • Ancient Greek κέρμα (kérma, “cut-off piece, small coin”) and Ancient Greek κορμός (kormós, “trunk, cut-off piece”)[9]

Reflexes

  • Anatolian: Hittite iškār- (“to sting, to stab, to pierce”)[11]
  • Greek: Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “to cut off, to shave”)[9]
  • Albanian: Albanian harr (“to weed, to cut down”)[14]
  • Germanic: Old Norse skera (“to shear, to cut”), LIV's root present[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 1.*sk/k̑er-
  2. ^ a b c d e Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. σκαίρω
  3. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke, p. s.v. ker-5
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. curvus
  5. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 224
  6. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. κυρτός
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 2.*sker-
  8. ^ a b c Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 82
  9. ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. κείρω
  10. ^ a b Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 57
  11. ^ a b Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 400
  12. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. curtus
  13. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 443
  14. ^ Orel, Vladimir (1998), Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden / Boston / Köln: Brill, p. s.v. harr
Cite this entry

“*(s)ker-.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ine-pro/*(s)ker-. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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