Scramble
/ˈskræm.bəl/noun
To move or act hurriedly and awkwardly, or to mix things together in a disorderly way.
Did you know?“Scramble” is an old Germanic word of uncertain deeper origin, and its earliest uses in English already carried the sense of rough, disorderly movement rather than any magical or hidden meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
scramble
“To climb or move clumsily with hands and feet; to struggle in disorder.”
Middle English
English
scramblen
“To move awkwardly or clumsily; to scramble about.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skramb-
“A base suggesting scraping, shuffling, or scrambling movement.”
Old English / Old Norse influence
Germanic
skramb- / skramb-
“A rough, shuffling, or scrambling motion.”
Modern English
English
scramble
“To move or act hurriedly and disorderly; to mix or arrange in a random way.”