English
shake
Shake comes from Middle English schaken ‘to rock or agitate’, from Old English sċacan ‘to pass or depart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skek- ‘to jump’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skek-‘to jump’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skakaną‘to shake, swing, escape’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skakan‘to shake’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċacan‘to pass or depart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schaken‘to rock or agitate’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588shake
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skek-‘to jump’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skakaną‘to shake, swing, escape’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skakan‘to shake’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċacan‘to pass or depart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schaken‘to rock or agitate’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588shake
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “And when the princely Perſean Diadem, Shall ouerweigh his…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *skek- ‘to jump’
through Proto-Germanic *skakaną ‘to shake, swing, escape’
Today it means
verb To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *skek- / shake