scrutiny (n.)

early 15c., "the formal enumerating of the votes in an election to an office or dignity" (according to OED, "Now chiefly in Canon Law"), from Late Latin scrutinium "a search, inquiry" (in Medieval Latin, "a mode of election by ballot"), from Latin scrutari "to examine, investigate, search" (from PIE root *skreu- "to cut; cutting tool;" see shred (n.)). The meaning "close investigation or examination" is recorded from c. 1600.

Perhaps the original notion of the Latin word is "to search among rubbish," via scruta (plural) "trash, rags, rubbish" ("shreds"); or the original sense might be "to cut into, scratch."

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to scrutiny

shred (n.)

Middle English shrede "scrap or fragment; strip hanging from a garment," from Old English screade "piece cut off, cutting, scrap," from Proto-Germanic *skraudōn- (source also of Old Frisian skred "a cutting, clipping," Middle Dutch schroode "shred," Middle Low German schrot "piece cut off," Old High German scrot, "scrap, shred, a cutting, piece cut off," German Schrot "log, block, small shot," Old Norse skrydda "shriveled skin"), from PIE *skreu- "to cut; cutting tool," extension of root *sker- (1) "to cut."

inscrutable (adj.)

"that cannot be discovered by searching, mysterious," c. 1500, from Late Latin inscrutabilis, from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + *scrutabilis, from scrutari "examine, ransack" (see scrutiny). Related: Inscrutably; inscrutableness.

scrutinize (v.)

"observe or investigate closely," 1670s, from scrutiny + -ize. Related: Scrutinized; scrutinizing. The earlier verb was scrutine (1590s), from French scrutine, from Late Latin scrutinium.

Trends of scrutiny

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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late 15c., "to go through searchingly or in detail, run over with careful scrutiny," from Middle English per- "completely...

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From mid-14c. as "careful examination, scrutiny." Sense of "room furnished with books" is from late 14c....

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1972 (in reference to a letter of 1969 by Solzhenitsyn), from Russian glasnost "openness to public scrutiny," literally "...

find

To find out "to discover by scrutiny" is from 1550s (Middle English had a verb, outfinden, "to find out," c. 1300)....

card

References are also claimed for earlier dates, but these are relatively sparse and do not withstand scrutiny....

community

solicitation, which is all the more unbusinesslike because it is decentralized and not subject to outside disinterested scrutiny...

c. 1300, serchen, "go through and examine carefully and in detail" (transitive), from Old French cerchier "to search" (12c., Modern French chercher), from Latin circare "go about, wander, traverse," in Late Latin "to wander hither and thither, go round, explore," from circus "cir

chaser

c. 1300, "horse trained for chasing," agent noun from chase (v.), probably in some cases from Old French chaceor "huntsman, hunter." The meaning "water or mild beverage taken after a strong drink" is by 1894, U.S. colloquial. French had chasse (from chasser "to chase") "a drink o

scan

late 14c., scannen, "to mark off verse in metric feet, analyze verse according to its meter," from Late Latin scandere "to scan verse," originally, in classical Latin, "to climb, rise, mount" (the connecting notion is of the rising and falling rhythm of poetry), from PIE *skand-

look

Old English locian "use the eyes for seeing, gaze, look, behold, spy," from West Germanic *lokjan (source also of Old Saxon lokon "see, look, spy," Middle Dutch loeken "to look," Old High German luogen, German dialectal lugen "to look out"), a word of unknown origin. Breton lagud

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updated on March 06, 2022

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Dictionary entries near scrutiny

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