Word Origin & History
scare (v.)
c.1200, from O.N. skirra "to frighten," related to skjarr "timid, shy," of unknown origin. The noun is attested from 1530. To scare up "procure, obtain" is first recorded 1846, Amer.Eng., from notion of rousing game from cover. Scarecrow first recorded 1553, earliest ref. is to a person employed to scare birds. Stick-figure sense is implied by 1589. Scary is first recorded 1582; scaremonger is from 1888. To scare up "find, produce" is 1853, from the notion of hunters rousing game Scared stiff first recorded 1900; scared shitless is from 1936. Scaredy-cat "timid person" first attested 1933, in Dorothy Parker.