'scar' originates from Old Norse, specifically the word 'skar', where 'skar' meant 'notch or cut'.

'skar' transformed into the Middle English word 'skar', and eventually became the modern English word 'scar'.

Initially, it meant 'a cut or notch', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a mark left on the skin or tissue after a wound has healed'.