"to push or fight in a disorderly manner, struggle confusedly at close quarters," 1570s (transitive), 1580s (intransitive), probably a frequentative form of scuff (v.), but OED is against this; perhaps ultimately of Scandinavian origin. Related: Scuffled; scuffling. As a noun, "a confused pushing or struggle," c. 1600, from the verb.
Entries linking to scuffle
1768, "to walk (through or over something) without raising the feet," originally Scottish, a word "Of uncertain and possibly mixed origin" [OED], probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse skufa, skyfa "to shove, push aside" (from Proto-Germanic *skubanan, from PIE *skeubh- "to shove;" see shove (v.)).
The meaning "injure the surface of by hard usage or grazing with something rough" is by 1879. Related: Scuffed; scuffing. As a noun, "a slight, glancing blow," by 1824. Compare cuff (v.2).
"push along by direct, continuous strength; attempt to move by pushing," Middle English shouven, from Old English scufan, sceofan "push away, thrust, push with violence" (class II strong verb; past tense sceaf, past participle scoven), from Proto-Germanic *skūbanan (source also of Old Norse skufa, Old Frisian skuva, Dutch schuiven, Old High German scioban, German schieben "to push, thrust," Gothic af-skiuban), from PIE root *skeubh- "to shove" (source also of scuffle, shuffle, shovel; likely cognates outside Germanic include Lithuanian skubti "to make haste," skubinti "to hasten").
It has been replaced by push in all but colloquial and nautical usage. The intransitive sense of "press or push forward" was in Old English. Related: Shoved; shoving.
Shove off "leave" (1844) is from the boating sense of "cause to move away from shore by pushing with poles or oars (c. 1600). Shove the queer (1859) was an old expression for "to counterfeit money." Shove it had an earlier sense of "depart" before it became a rude synonym for stick it (by 1941) with implied destination.
1530s, "put together hastily," probably from Middle English shovelen "to move with dragging feet," itself probably a frequentative form of shoven (see shove (v.) and compare scuffle). Or perhaps from Low German schuffeln "to walk clumsily, deal dishonestly."
In reference to playing cards in a pack, "change the relative position of so that they may fall to players in an irregular and unknown order," it is recorded by 1560s, frequently figurative. The meaning "move the feet along the floor without lifting them" is from 1570s.
The meaning "push along gradually, shove little by little" is from 1560s. The meaning "move from one place to another" is from 1690s. The sense of "do a shuffle dance" is by 1818 (Scott, in reference to a dancing bear). Related: Shuffled; shuffling. To shuffle off "get rid of, dispose of" is from Shakespeare (1601).
updated on March 07, 2022