Scorn
/skɔːrn/noun
Open contempt or disdain for someone or something.
Did you know?Scorn traces back to a Germanic root meaning to reject or refuse, and its deeper family includes words tied to choosing, separating, and judgment — the language of exclusion has been in English for centuries.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut, separate”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skarnōną
“to mock, despise, reject”
Old English
OE
scornian
“to mock, despise”
13th Century
Middle English
scorne
“contempt, mockery; to despise”
Modern English
English
scorn
“open contempt or disdain”