Etymograph

English

shrewd

Shrewd comes from Middle English schrewed ‘depraved’, from schrewen ‘to curse’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to shorten, cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to shorten, cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrawwaz‘a malevolent creature or spirit’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrēawa‘wicked person’literally ‘biter’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrewe‘evil or wicked person/thing’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500schrewen‘to curse’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500schrewed‘depraved’literally ‘accursed’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598shrewd

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to shorten, cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrawwaz‘a malevolent creature or spirit’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrēawa‘wicked person’literally ‘biter’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schrewe‘evil or wicked person/thing’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500schrewen‘to curse’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500schrewed‘depraved’literally ‘accursed’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598shrewd

Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Portia: There are some shrewd contents in yon same…”

Formed from shrew + -ed

Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’

Proto-Germanic *skrawwaz ‘thin’

Old English sċrēawa

Middle English schrewe ‘a scoundrel or villain’

English shrew

The story

From Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”, literally “accursed”), from schrewen (‘to curse; beshrew’), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (‘evil or wicked person/thing’), from Old English sċrēawa (“wicked person”, literally “biter”). The sense of "cunning" developed in early 16ᵗʰ c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17ᵗʰ c.

Linked words

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

across, short, card, cross, cancer, share, screen, score, circle, circuit, shirt, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, scare, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, circa, corona, crest, scorpion, incarceration, carnage, shrine, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, corolla, shear, scorn, crux, carnal, cirque, riddance, circulatory, 119 more

Today it means

adj Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.

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

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

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