English
Shear
Shear comes from Middle English schyre ‘pure, bright, fair’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyr- ‘luster, gloss, shadow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḱeyr-‘luster, gloss, shadow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skīriz‘pure, clear, sheer’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skīrreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċīr‘bright’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schyre‘pure, bright, fair’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013Shear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḱeyr-‘luster, gloss, shadow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skīriz‘pure, clear, sheer’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skīrreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċīr‘bright’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schyre‘pure, bright, fair’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013Shear
Earliest quotation: 2013, Mary Pilon, In Te’o Story, Deception Ripped From the Screen: “Real people in a picture that was used by…”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyr-
Today it means
name A surname.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyr- / Shear