English
shell
Shell comes from Middle English schelle, from Old English sċiell, from Proto-Germanic *skaljō ‘shell, husk’, from PIE *(s)kelH- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-‘to cut, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaljō‘shell, husk’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skalljureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċiell
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schelle
- Englishearliest quotation 1687shell
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-‘to cut, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaljō‘shell, husk’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skalljureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċiell
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schelle
- Englishearliest quotation 1687shell
Earliest quotation: 1687, John Dryden: “when Jubal struck the chorded shell”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut’
half, skill, skull, shield, shale, halter, shilling, shoal, halve, schilling, hapa, schelling, shelve, 14 more
Today it means
noun The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- / shell