Moving hurriedly with quick, light steps, often when nervous or trying to escape something.
From the verb 'scurry,' which may combine 'scour' with 'hurry,' or possibly derive from Middle English 'scour.' It became popular in the 1800s as a vivid way to describe quick, nervous movement.
Scurry is the perfect word for small animals or anxious people moving quickly—it inherently suggests the subject is a bit panicked or furtive. You never see royalty scurrying; you see them striding, while mice and nervous accountants scurry.
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