Old Scratch "the Devil," 1740, is from earlier Scrat, from O.N. skratte "goblin, monster," a word which was used in late O.E. for "hermaphrodite" (cf. O.H.G. scrato "satyr, wood demon").

This was taken fromn an on-line etymological dictionary; the reference to old high Greek scrato compared to old Norse skrat is interesting.


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