scrawl

Meanings

Noun

• Irregular, possibly illegible handwriting.
• A hastily or carelessly written note etc.
• Writing that lacks literary merit.
• A broken branch of a tree.
• The young of the dog-crab.

Verb

• To write something hastily or illegibly.
• To write in an irregular or illegible manner.
• To write unskilfully and inelegantly.
• To creep; crawl; to swarm with crawling things

Origin

• Possibly from Middle English scraulen ("to spread out one's limbs; sprawl"), itself an alteration of spraulen or craulen, crawlen.
• Alternatively, from scrall, a contraction of scrabble.
• From Middle English scraulen ("to crawl"), itself an alteration of crawlen. More at crawl.