Etymograph

English

Scutum

Scutum comes from Latin scūtum ‘shield’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscūtum‘shield’
  2. EnglishtodayScutum

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscūtum‘shield’
  2. EnglishtodayScutum

The story

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687, from Latin scūtum (‘shield’). The original name given was Scutum Sobiescianum (Sobieski's Shield) in commemoration of the victory of the Polish, Austrian, and German forces led by the Polish king Jan III Sobieski at the battle of Vienna.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to cut, split’

nice, ship, science, equipment, shift, scientific, shed, skip, kyle, ski, conscious, shin, sheath, skeet, skiff, chine, prescient, skein, shud, 44 more

through Latin scūtum ‘shield’

squire, skew, scuttle, scullery, 15 more

Today it means

name A small autumn constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a shield. It lies between the constellations of Aquila, Sagittarius, and the tail of Serpens.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin scūtum / Scutum

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