English
short
Short comes from Middle English schort, from Old English sċort ‘short’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz ‘short’, perhaps from *skertaną ‘to cut off’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to cut off’uncertain
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurtreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċort‘short’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schort
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596short
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skertaną‘to cut off’uncertain
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurtreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċort‘short’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schort
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596short
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “For the short and the long is, our play…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
across, card, cross, cancer, share, screen, circle, score, circuit, crucial, curve, scare, circus, circulation, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, crest, circa, shrine, incarceration, carnage, coronary, raffle, circulate, corona, scorpion, carcinoma, shear, crux, shred, carnal, cirque, corolla, riddance, crepe, shrewd, scorn, 117 more
through Proto-Germanic *skertaną ‘to cut off’
through Proto-Germanic *skurtaz
Today it means
adj Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *skertaną / short