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Added 9 October 2026

screen

/ˈskɹiːn/ noun

In Latin: pluteus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about screen at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing.
A protective covering that keeps things out or hinders sight.
they had just moved in and had not put up blinds yet
The display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube.

verb

Test or examine for the presence of disease or infection.
screen the blood for the HIV virus
Examine methodically.
screen the suitcases
Examine in order to test suitability.
screen these samples

Origin

From Middle English scren, screne (“windscreen, firescreen”), from Anglo-Norman escren (“firescreen, the tester of a bed”), Old French escren, escrein, escran (modern French écran (“screen”)), from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch skirm, from Proto-West Germanic *skirmi, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz (“fur, shelter, covering, screen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut, divide”). Cognate with Dutch scherm (“screen”), German Schirm (“screen”). Doublet of scherm.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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