screw en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈskɾɪʊ/ (Wales)
- /ˈskɻʉ/ (Northern-Ireland)
- /ˈskɹuː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈskɾʉ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈskɹʉw/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- (US) audio
- /ˈskɹu/ (General-American)
- /ˈskɹʉː/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.? Latin scrōfa Old French escrouebor. ▲ Old French escruveinflu. Middle English scrue English screw From Middle English screw, scrue (“screw”); apparently, despite the difference in meaning, from Old French escroue (“nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole”), from Latin scrōfa (“female pig”) through comparison with the corkscrew shape of a pig's penis. There is also the Old French escruve (“screw”), from Old Dutch *scrūva ("screw"; whence Middle Dutch schruyve (“screw”)), which probably influenced or conflated with the aforementioned, resulting in the Middle English word. more on the etymology of screw Old French escroue (whence Medieval Latin scrofa (“nut, screwhole”)), is believed to be an adaptation of Latin scrōfa (“sow, female pig”); but this development is not found in other Romance languages. (For change in meaning, compare also Spanish puerca, Portuguese porca, both ‘sow; screw nut’, and is based on the fact that a boar's penis has a screw-like tip, making the sow's vulva equivalent to a screw nut by analogy). Old Dutch *scrūva possibly derives from Proto-Germanic *skrūbō (“screw”), from *skru- (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keru-, *(s)ker- (“to cut”), and is related to German Schraube (“screw”), Low German schruve, schruwe (“screw”), Dutch schroef (“screw”), West Frisian skroef (“screw”), Danish skrue (“screw”), Swedish skruv (“screw, peg”), Icelandic skrúfa (“screw”). Compare also Occitan escrofa (“screw nut”), Calabrese scrufina (“screw nut”), which may be borrowings of the Old French word, or parallel developments.
Meanings
- A device that has a helical function. ▸ A simple machine, a helical inclined plane.
- A device that has a helical function. ▸ A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a partially or completely threaded shank, sometimes with a threaded point, and a head used to both hold the top material and to drive the screw either directly into a soft material or into a prepared hole.
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A device that has a helical function. ▸ A ship's propeller.
It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.
1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC, page 01:
- A device that has a helical function. ▸ An Archimedes screw.
- A device that has a helical function. ▸ A steam vessel propelled by a screw instead of wheels.
- The motion of screwing something; a turn or twist to one side.
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(derogatory, slang) A prison guard.
And that's how it came to pass that on the second-to-last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of forty-nine wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning drinking icy cold, Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison.
1994, Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption (film)The screws moved her out of my cell because they could not stand the idea of a black and white white being together.
1984 April 21, Albert Jones, “White Lovers”, in Gay Community News, page 4:They both wedged up in his cell and refused to come out. They were hurling abuse at the screws on the other side of the door. As a result they were both shipped out to another jail the following day.
2000, Reginald Kray, A Way of Life:
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(derogatory, slang) An extortioner; a sharp bargainer; a skinflint.
This gentleman and the guard seemed to know Sir Pitt very well, and laughed at him a great deal. They both agreed in calling him an old screw; which means a very stingy, avaricious person.
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 8, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
- (US, dated, slang) An instructor who examines with great or unnecessary severity; also, a searching or strict examination of a student by an instructor.
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(slang, vulgar) Sexual intercourse; the act of screwing.
Why can't I get just one screw? / Believe me, I'd know what to do / But something won't let me make love to you
1983, Gordon Gano, “Add It Up”, in Violent Femmes, performed by Violent Femmes:As she sucked the nicotine deeply into her lungs, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard, enjoying the pleasurable buzz that the combination of a good screw—well, a decent screw—coupled with the nicotine gave.
2009, Kimberly Kaye Terry, The Sweet Spot, Aphrodisia Books, published 2009, →ISBN, page 28:A few couples would let selected doggers join in, with the lucky ones managing to get a screw.
2007, Barry Calvert, Swingers 1, Matador, published 2007, →ISBN, page 85:“Not for God's sake, for Papá's sake. He's the one who gave Mami a good screw, and then you popped out. Or did you think you were a child of the Immaculate Conception, like the Baby Jesus?
2001, Bárbara Mujica, Frida: A Novel of Frida Kahlo, Overlook Press, published 2012, →ISBN:
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(slang, vulgar) A casual sexual partner.
If I don't go back to my boy friend he'll be as mad as hell. He's a sulky brute, but Christ, he's a good screw.
1944, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter 5, in The Razor’s Edge […], 1st American edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Co., →OCLC, section ii, page 211:She was just a girl, like any of the girls he had had so easily, just another screw.
1993, William Gill, Fortune's Child, HarperCollins Canada, published 1994, →ISBN, page 42:Mary was Eli's favorite screw because she was clean, pretty, a good mother, funny, and alway was able to make herself available for their twice a week fucks as easily as he was.
2009, Sam Moffie, The Book of Eli, Mill City Press, published 2009, →ISBN, page 6:"Swear it!" Kathleen screamed. "Let her know that she's just another screw. Because, darling, that's all you are. So go on, tell her!"
1990, Susan Lewis, Stolen Beginnings, HarperPaperbacks, published 1992, →ISBN, page 122:
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(archaic, slang) Salary, wages.
A certain amount of "screw" is as necessary for a man as for a billiard-ball.
1888, Rudyard Kipling, In the Pride of His Youth:“I’ll speak to Mrs. Dorman when she comes back, and see if I can’t come to terms with her,” I said. “Perhaps she wants a rise in her screw. It will be all right. Let’s walk up to the church.”
1887, Edith Nesbit, Man-Size in Marble:
- Backspin.
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(dated) A twist of paper, especially one containing a small quantity of a material such as salt or tobacco.
Before potato crisps were sold pre-salted each packet would contain a screw of salt.
3 Screws and a Pipe
1847, Henry Mayhew, The Greatest Plague of Life:When the opportunity came the blind man smoothed out the screw of paper that the encounter had left in his hand and read as follows: […]
1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:
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(dated) An old, worn-out, unsound and worthless horse.
[…] a gentleman of leisure, who enjoyed himself on a couple of spavined screws […]; both of them, as Stephen said, looked lonely without a gig behind them.
1937, Siegfried Sassoon, The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston: Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, London: Faber and Faber, page 155 (Faber Paper 1972 edition):
- A straight line in space with which a definite linear magnitude termed the pitch is associated. It is used to express the displacement of a rigid body, which may always be made to consist of a rotation about an axis combined with a translation parallel to that axis.
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An amphipod crustacean.
the skeleton screw (Caprella)
the sand screw
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(in-plural, informal, with-definite-article) Rheumatism.
She didn't like my mother, so she made a wax doll and stuck thorns into its legs, and my mother had the screws (rheumatism) in her legs ever since.
2000, Jacqueline Simpson, Stephen Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| screws | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
differential screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw wrench (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · News of the Screws (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · self-drilling screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · self-tapping screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · foot screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw head (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · coach screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · mana-screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · waxy screw shell (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw ventilator (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw bolt (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-type (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · polyaxial screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Archimedean screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-you (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · jackscrew (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · the first turn of the screw pays all debts (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · colour screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw jack (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw base (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-thread (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · color screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Robertson screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw nail (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Chicago screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-stone (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw top (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · put someone under the screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Archimedes screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · capstan screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · machine screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw shoe (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · right and left screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · regulating screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw stair (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · turn the screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · grub screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · cap screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-pile lighthouse (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · bed screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-off (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · color-screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · endless screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · eye screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · lighter screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw valve (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Hunter's screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · ballscrew (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · sheet-metal screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Archimedes' screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · breech screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screwene (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw loose (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · stage screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · mana screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · put the screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Edison screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw pile (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw steamer (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-up (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · wood screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw pump (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · twin screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw machine (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · turnscrew (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Screws of the World (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screwdriver (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw pine (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · jack screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw theory (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · finger screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · worm screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · have a loose screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw cap (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · temper screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · full screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw key (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw anchor (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Allen screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · lag screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw thread (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screwhead (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · go screw yourself (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · water screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · ball screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · turn of the screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · lead screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · limit screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · hex head screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · translation screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw elevator (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · have a screw loose (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · power screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · leadscrew (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · interrupted screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Phillips screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · Hindley's screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw palm (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw eye (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw drive (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · sand-screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw box (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw-top (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screwjack (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw picket (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · wall screw-moss (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw peg (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · set screw (Terms derived from screw (noun)) · screw pod mesquite (Terms derived from screw (noun))
Relateds
Translations (267)
cs vrut (fastener) · pt trepada (act of screwing) · el βίδωμα (act of screwing) · zza vida (fastener) · mi kōwiri (fastener) · alt шуруп (fastener) · tt шөреп (fastener) · nb skrue (fastener) · ru винт (ship’s propeller) · nl schroef (fastener) · sw parafujo (fastener) · pl śruba (fastener) · ba винт (fastener) · bg пропе́лер (ship’s propeller) · de Festschrauben (act of screwing) · hu csavar (simple machine) · fi potkuri (ship’s propeller) · it vite (fastener) · af skroef (fastener) · kl qinnilik (fastener) · he בורג (fastener) · xh isikrufu (fastener) · id sekrup (fastener) · bho पेंच (fastener) · wym śraoj (fastener) · mn шрүп (fastener) · my ဝက်အူ (fastener) · yue 螺絲 /螺丝 (fastener) · lv skrūve (fastener) · te ఇష్క్రూ (fastener) · de Aufpasser (prison guard) · sq vidhë (fastener) · zza vide (fastener) · uz vint (fastener) · gv scrod (fastener) · lb Schrauf (fastener) · krl ruuvi (fastener) · ru шуру́п (fastener) · fr visser (act of screwing) · udm винты (fastener) · cmn 螺旋槳 /螺旋桨 (ship’s propeller) · ru винт (simple machine) · de Schraube (simple machine) · pms vis (fastener) · de Anschrauben (act of screwing) · id sipir (prison guard) · tt винт (fastener) · be прапе́лер (ship’s propeller) · krl kruuvi (fastener) · ta திருகாணி (fastener) · mn шураг (fastener) · fi pano (act of screwing) · el βίδα (fastener) · ja スクリュー (ship’s propeller) · sk skrutka (fastener) · pl wkręt (fastener) · az vint (fastener) · ca cargol (simple machine) · ky шуруп (fastener) · es tirafondo (fastener) · he בֹּרֶג (fastener) · os винт (fastener) · kw skrew (fastener) · dz གཅུས་གཟེར། (fastener) · ba шөрөп (fastener) · dsb šruba (fastener) · csb szruwa (fastener) · bg зави́нтване (act of screwing) · pt parafuso (fastener) · ms sekerup سكروڤ (fastener) · kpv дзурк (fastener) · pdt Schruw (fastener) · ro șurub (simple machine) · fy skroef (fastener) · ru пропе́ллер (ship’s propeller) · de Verschrauben (act of screwing) · bar Schraubn (fastener) · fr vis (fastener) · km ខ្ចៅ (fastener) · eu gabila (fastener) · cv винт (fastener) · la clavus cochleatus (fastener) · mg visy (fastener) · ro înșurubare (act of screwing) · tpi skru (fastener) · te ఇస్క్రూ (fastener) · ar قَلَاوُوظ (fastener) · ast torniellu (fastener) · ltg skryva (fastener) · krl vintta (fastener) · eo ŝraŭbo (fastener) · ro elice (ship’s propeller) · da knald (act of screwing) · nog бурав (fastener) · ja 螺子 (fastener) · qu pillinku (fastener) · hy պտուտակ (fastener) · mk шраф (fastener) · te మర (fastener) · ka ხრახნი (ship’s propeller) · de Schraube (fastener) · uk шуру́п (fastener) · an torniello (fastener) · ru вертуха́й (prison guard) · haw wilipuaʻa (fastener) · os лӕсгӕр (fastener) · hsb šrub (fastener) · ms pelir itik ڤليتيق (fastener) · lt sraigtas (fastener) · az şurup (fastener) · el δεσμοφύλακας (prison guard) · ca caragol (fastener) · ckb برغی (fastener) · es tornillo (fastener) · mt vit (fastener) · be шру́ба (fastener) · sl vijak (fastener) · lld vida (fastener) · pl śruba (ship’s propeller) · be вінт (ship’s propeller) · ca bis (fastener) · eo helico (ship’s propeller) · ht vis (fastener) · lt sraigtas (ship’s propeller) · sv propeller (ship’s propeller) · af neuk (fastener) · it scopata (act of screwing) · rm struva (fastener) · cs šroub (simple machine) · de Schrauben (act of screwing) · el κοχλίωση (act of screwing) · cmn 螺釘 /螺钉 (fastener) · is skrúfa (fastener) · kea parafuze (fastener) · bo གཅུ་འཛེར། (fastener) · hu smasszer (prison guard) · fi vanginvartija (prison guard) · yue 螺絲釘 /螺丝钉 (fastener) · th ควง (fastener) · ka ხრახნი (fastener) · te మరమేకు (fastener) · ca hèlice (ship’s propeller) · tyv гайка (fastener) · io skrubo (fastener) · liv skrõuv (fastener) · nl vijs (fastener) · ota ویده (fastener) · ro șurub (fastener) · pl śruba (simple machine) · tk nurbat (fastener) · de Wärter (prison guard) · crh vint (fastener) · ms skru سكرو (fastener) · de Gefängniswärter (prison guard) · mn ᠡᠷᠭᠢ ᠰᠢᠷᠤᠭ (fastener) · te స్క్రూ (fastener) · vec vida (fastener) · bg болт (fastener) · li sjroef (fastener) · vls vize (fastener) · ar لَوْلَب (simple machine) · bg червяк (simple machine) · mn эрэг (fastener) · el κοχλίας (simple machine) · cs bachař (prison guard) · ja ねじ (fastener) · tr vida (fastener) · cs lodní šroub (ship’s propeller) · udm винт (fastener) · uk пропе́лер (ship’s propeller) · sv skruv (fastener) · bg винт (ship’s propeller) · co vita (fastener) · lt varžtas (fastener) · am ብሎን (fastener) · fi nussiminen (act of screwing) · fa پیچ (fastener) · ca cargol (fastener) · ko 나사 (fastener) · fi ruuvi (fastener) · hu csavar (fastener) · gl parafuso (fastener) · de Wächter (prison guard) · mn эрэг шураг (fastener) · lo ກຽວ (fastener) · bg бурма (fastener) · ilo tornilio (fastener) · vi vít (fastener) · vo skrub (fastener) · nog винт (fastener) · fo skrúva (ship’s propeller) · sq helikë (fastener) · da skrue (ship’s propeller) · kea parafuzu (fastener) · pt hélice (ship’s propeller) · gl hélice (ship’s propeller) · pap skruf (fastener) · cy sgriw (fastener) · fo skrúva (fastener) · hi पेंच (fastener) · mt kamin (fastener) · ia vite (fastener) · se skruva (fastener) · tl tornilyo (fastener) · nn skrue (fastener) · sh ви́јак (fastener) · sh víjak (fastener) · ce винт (fastener) · uz shurup (fastener) · de Schiffsschraube (ship’s propeller) · de Schraube (ship’s propeller) · cs vrut (simple machine) · mi tīwiri (fastener) · mk завртка (fastener) · sk skrutka (ship’s propeller) · sm faovili (fastener) · uk гвинт (fastener) · oc vitz (fastener) · pl klawisz (prison guard) · mhn schrauf (fastener) · mn ᠡᠷᠭᠢ (fastener) · pt parafuso (simple machine) · fur vît (fastener) · ru винт (fastener) · srn skrufu (fastener) · lmo vid (fastener) · br biñs (fastener) · shn ဝၢၵ်ႈဢူႇ (fastener) · el έλικα (ship’s propeller) · es hélice (ship’s propeller) · ar بُرْغِيّ (fastener) · lo ຄວງ (fastener) · ltg škruba (fastener) · es bulón (fastener) · ovd skruv (fastener) · nl schroef (ship’s propeller) · de Einschrauben (act of screwing) · kac we wu (fastener) · haw ulepuaʻa (fastener) · wym śrau (fastener) · kk бұранда (fastener) · sv knull (act of screwing) · zu isikulufo (fastener) · lij via (fastener) · da skrue (simple machine) · et kruvi (fastener) · tl balukay (simple machine) · nb skruing (act of screwing) · ms pelitik (fastener) · mn ᠰᠢᠷᠤᠭ (fastener) · kk бұрамашеге (fastener) · szl szroba (fastener) · cmn 螺絲釘 /螺丝钉 (fastener) · haw kui nao (fastener) · yi שרויף (fastener) · eu torloju (fastener) · bg шнек (simple machine) · gd sgriubha (fastener) · fr hélice (ship’s propeller) · gu સ્ક્રૂ (fastener) · it elica (ship’s propeller) · da skrue (fastener) · fi ruuvi (simple machine) · vro kruvv (fastener) · bg винт (fastener) · ga scriú (fastener) · pt tarraxa (fastener)