'screamer' originates from English, specifically the verb 'scream' with the agentive suffix '-er' (meaning 'one who screams').

'scream' developed from Middle English 'screamen' and is probably influenced by Old Norse 'skræma' meaning 'to frighten'; the agentive form 'screamer' formed later in English by adding '-er' to indicate an agent or thing that produces the action.

Initially related to the act 'to utter a loud cry,' the term evolved to refer not only to a person who screams but also to things that cause screaming and, informally, to extraordinarily impressive plays or shots ('a screamer').