English

hardshell

From hard + shell.

A compound of hard + shell

Proto-Germanic *harduz

Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī)

Old English heard ‘hard’

Middle English hard

English hard

Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, split’

Proto-Germanic *skaljō ‘shell, husk’

Proto-West Germanic *skallju

Old English sċiell

Middle English schelle

English shell

Today it means

adj Having a tough outer shell.

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

Etymograph / hardshell