"S" Word Origins

shark

Origin · 1400

First recorded in English in the 1400s referring to the fish, origin uncertain — possibly linked to an older sense of "shark" meaning a swindler or rogue, since sharks (the fish) have long symbolised ruthless predators.

Sharkey

Irish

An anglicized form of Irish Ó Searcaigh, meaning "descendant of the beloved one."

sharky

Origin

From shark plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

Sharma

Hindi

From Hindi शर्मा (śarmā) or Telugu శర్మ (śarma).

sharn

Origin

From Middle English schern, from Old English sċearn (“sharn, dung, muck, filth”), from Proto-West Germanic *skarn, from Proto-Germanic *skarną (“manure”), from Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“dung, manure”). Cognate with North Frisian skern (“dung, manure”), Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic skarn (“dung”), German Harn (“urine”). Doublet of skarn.

Sharon

Hebrew

From Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (šārōn), the biblical name of the coastal plain.

Sharona

Hebrew

From Hebrew שָׁרוֹנָה, an extended form of Sharon.

sharp

Old English

From Old English scearp, going back to a Germanic root meaning "to cut" — the same ancient root that gave us "shear" and "scrape."

sharpen

Middle English

From Middle English scharpenen, formed from sharp plus the verb-forming suffix -en.

sharpener

Origin

From sharpen plus the agent suffix -er, "one that sharpens."

sharper

Origin

From sharp plus the agent suffix -er.

Sharpie

Origin

From the Sharpie brand name, formed from sharp plus -ie.

sharply

Old English

From Old English sċearplīċe, "sharply, smartly," from sharp plus -ly.

sharpness

Old English

From Old English sċearpnes, from sharp plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

sharpshooter

German

A loan translation (calque) of the German Scharfschütze, "sharp shooter."

shart

Origin

Blend of shit + fart. Compare shiss.

Shashi

Origin

c. late 20th c., from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 沙市 (Shāshì).

shashlik

Origin

Borrowed from Russian шашлы́к (šašlýk), from Crimean Tatar şışlıq / шишлик (şişlik, “something to be cooked on a skewer”), ultimately from Turkic; compare Turkish şaşlık/ şişlik. Doublet of chislic.

Shasta

Origin

Uncertain origin, possibly from the exonym Sustika via the Klamath language.

shastri

Hindi

From Hindi शास्त्री (śāstrī), meaning "one learned in the shastras."

shat

Origin

Likely a shortened form of "shatter," an old dialect word also meaning pine needle.

shatter

Middle English

From Middle English schateren, "to scatter, dash," related to scatter; both likely trace back to an imitative Germanic root suggesting a sudden smashing sound.

Shaun

Hebrew

A variant spelling of Sean, from Irish Seán, ultimately from the Hebrew name meaning "God is gracious."

Shauna

Origin

Formed from Shaun plus the feminine suffix -a.

shave

Old English

From Old English sċafan, "to scrape or shave," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to scrape," related to words in Dutch and German with the same core meaning.

shaveling

Origin

From shave + -ling.

shaver

Middle English

From Middle English schaver, "one who shaves," from shave plus -er.

shaw

Old English

From Old English sċeaga, "small wood," related to Old Norse skógr, "forest" (the source of Danish skov).

shawarma

Origin

Borrowed from Arabic شَاوِرْمَا (šāwirmā), شَاوَرْمَا (šāwarmā), from Ottoman Turkish چویرمه (çevirme, “something that is spun or turned over”), verbal noun of چویرمك (çevirmek, “to turn over”) (modern Turkish çevirme and çevirmek).

shawhan

Origin

Variant of Sheehan.

shawl

Persian

From Hindi and Urdu shal, from Persian shal — the garment reached English via trade with South Asia.

Shawna

Origin

Formed from Shawn plus the feminine suffix -a.

Shawnee

Origin

From the Shawnee people's own name for themselves, related to a word meaning roughly "southerners."

Shawshank

Origin · 1994

From the fictional Shawshank State Penitentiary in Stephen King's novella and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption, in which a prisoner escapes after tunnelling out over many years.

shay

French

A back-formation from "chaise" — people heard the French plural-sounding \"-aise\" ending and assumed \"shay\" was the singular.

shazam

Origin · 1940

Coined in 1940 by comic writer Bill Parker as an acronym built from six mythical strongmen: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

Shazia

Arabic

From Arabic šāḏiyya, meaning "rare" or "unique."

shazza

Origin

From Sharon + -zza.

she

Old English

Traces back through Middle English "sche/scho" to an Old English root, likely "hēo," with a sound shift that eventually produced the modern "she" — the exact path is debated among linguists.

she/her

Origin

From a common format for specifying feminine pronouns in online profiles.

Shea

Irish

The tree name comes from a West African language; the Irish surname is an anglicized form of Ó Séaghdha.

sheaf

Origin

From Middle English scheef, from Old English sċēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaub, from Proto-Germanic *skauba- (“sheaf”). Cognates Akin to West Frisian skeaf (“sheaf”), Dutch schoof (“sheaf”), German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail”). Compare further Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head”), German Schopf (“tuft”).

shear

Old English

From Old English sċieran, "to shear or shave," an ancient Germanic word related to "shore" and "shard" through a root meaning "to cut."

shearing

Middle English

From Middle English "scherynge," simply "shear" plus the "-ing" ending.

sheath

Old English

From Old English sċēaþ, "sheath," an ancient Germanic word for a protective case built around the idea of "splitting" or "dissecting."

sheathe

Origin

From Late Middle English shethen (“to put (a sword or knife) into a sheath, sheathe; to provide with a sheath; (figuratively) to have sexual intercourse”) [and other forms], then: * probably from Old English *scēaþian; or * possibly from Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms] + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Sheth(e) is derived from Old English sċēaþ (“sheath”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiju, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted).

Sheba

Hebrew

From the Biblical Hebrew name Šəḇāʾ.

shebang

Irish · 1850

Origin unclear — the word surfaces in 1850s America meaning a shelter or ramshackle building, likely influenced by "shebeen" (an unlicensed Irish drinking house); the computing sense is unrelated and much later.