Etymograph

English

skellum

Skellum comes from Afrikaans skelm ‘scoundrel, rogue’, from Middle High German schelme ‘pest, plague’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *skalmjan.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skalmjanreconstructed
  2. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350schelme‘pest, plague’
  3. Germanc. 1650–presentSchelm‘imp, rogue’
  4. Dutchc. 1500–presentschelm
  5. Afrikaansmodernskelm‘scoundrel, rogue’
  6. Englishtodayskellum

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skalmjanreconstructed
  2. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350schelme‘pest, plague’
  3. Germanc. 1650–presentSchelm‘imp, rogue’
  4. Dutchc. 1500–presentschelm
  5. Afrikaansmodernskelm‘scoundrel, rogue’
  6. Englishtodayskellum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to split, part, divide’

half, shield, skill, shell, shale, skull, shilling, shoal, halter, schilling, halve, shelve, hapa, schelling, 13 more

Today it means

noun A rogue.

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

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *skalmjan / skellum

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