English
shear
Shear comes from Old English sċieran ‘to shear’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skeraną‘to shear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeran‘to shear, to cut’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċieran‘to shear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sheren
- Englishearliest quotation 1609shear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skeraną‘to shear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeran‘to shear, to cut’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċieran‘to shear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sheren
- Englishearliest quotation 1609shear
Earliest quotation: 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 68: “the golden tresses […] were shorn away”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’
across, short, cross, cancer, screen, score, card, share, circle, circuit, shirt, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, scare, cancellation, scrutiny, crest, carnival, circa, shrine, scar, corona, scorpion, incarceration, raffle, circulate, corolla, carnage, crux, shred, cirque, carcinoma, riddance, circulatory, crepe, shrewd, 117 more
through Proto-Germanic *skeraną ‘to shear’
Today it means
verb To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / shear