English
shield
Shield comes from Middle English scheld ‘a shield’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘cut, split’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-‘cut, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skelduzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeldureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150scield
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scheld‘a shield’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590shield
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-‘cut, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skelduzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeldureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150scield
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scheld‘a shield’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590shield
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser: “Bespotted as with shields of red and black.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘cut, split’
half, skill, skull, shell, shale, halter, shilling, shoal, schilling, halve, hapa, schelling, shelve, 14 more
Another origin of shield
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-‘to split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skelduzreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skildijaną‘to provide a shield’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skildijan‘to provide a shield’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150scildan‘to protect’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schilden‘to protect or defend’
- Englishtodayshield
Today it means
noun A broad piece of defensive armor, held in hand, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- / shield