Etymograph

English

shirt

Shirt comes from Old English sċyrte ‘a short garment’, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ, from *skurtaz ‘short’, from *skertaną ‘to cut off’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to cut off’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtijǭ‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurtijā‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċyrte‘a short garment’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schirt
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1509shirt

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to cut off’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtijǭ‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurtijā‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċyrte‘a short garment’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schirt
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1509shirt

Earliest quotation: 1509, John Fisher: “She had her shertes & gyrdyls of heere.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off’

across, card, cross, cancer, share, screen, score, circle, crucial, circuit, curve, scare, carnival, curb, circulation, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, circus, crest, shrine, corona, scorpion, incarceration, carnage, circa, raffle, carcinoma, corolla, scorn, shear, crux, shred, carnal, circulate, riddance, crepe, carnivorous, shrewd, corgi, 116 more

through Proto-Germanic *skertaną ‘to cut off’

shortly, shortness, scherzo, shortbread

through Proto-Germanic *skurtaz ‘short’

short, 3 more

through Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ ‘a short garment, skirt, apron’

skirt

Another origin of shirt

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerdʰ-‘to cut up’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to cut (off), shorten’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtijǭ‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurtijā‘skirt, apron’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċyrte‘a short garment’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schirte
  8. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500schirten‘to cover (something) in a manner reminiscent of a shirt’
  9. Englishtodayshirt

Today it means

noun An article of clothing that is worn on the upper part of the body, often with sleeves that cover some or all of the arms.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / shirt

Shirt and support for this word