Etymograph

English

shelter

Shelter comes from Old English sċildtruma ‘phalanx’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċildtruma‘phalanx’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sheltron
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1663shelter

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċildtruma‘phalanx’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sheltron
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1663shelter

Earliest quotation: 1663, John Dryden: “Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.”

Every English word from Old English sċildtruma

Today it means

noun A place where a person or animal may find protection from the elements (especially rain, storms, or cold) sometimes as a place to sleep (such as a cave).

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

Etymograph / Old English sċildtruma / shelter

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