English
shadow
Shadow comes from Old English sċeadu ‘shadow, shade’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-‘darkness’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduz‘shade’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skadureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeadu‘shadow’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150sċeaduweoblique form of sċeadu
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schadowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1590shadow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-‘darkness’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduz‘shade’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skadureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeadu‘shadow’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150sċeaduweoblique form of sċeadu
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schadowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1590shadow
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto V: “In secret shadow from the sunny ray, / On…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- ‘darkness’
scene, scenario, shame, obscure, squirrel, scenic, scotia, hoar, skene, 31 more
through Old English sċeadu ‘shadow, shade’
Another origin of shadow
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₃-túsreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduz‘a shadow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skadureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeadu
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150sċeadwian‘to overshadow, cover with shadow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schadowen
- Englishtodayshadow
Today it means
noun A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- / shadow