English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

"S" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“S” Word Origins

A back-formation from "shoplifter."

From shop + lifter ("one who steals").

From shop + lift, formed as a noun before the verb "shoplift" itself became common.

From shop + the agent suffix -er.

By surface analysis, shop + -ing.

From Middle English schore, likely from Old English roots meaning a rugged, rocky place — related to the verb "shear" (to cut).

From shore + line.

From Old English sceort, sċort ("short"), from a Proto-Germanic root — a doublet of "shirt", "skirt", and "curt".

From the trading sense of short, meaning to owe something you do not currently hold, plus selling.

A compound of short and sighted, first describing limited physical vision and later extended to limited foresight.

From short + the suffix -age.

From short (meaning "crumbly", as of pastry) + bread.

From short (crumbly) + cake.

From the phrase to come short, meaning to fall short of a standard.

From short + cut.

From short + the verb-forming suffix -en, continuing an older Old English word meaning "to become short".

Deverbal from fall short. By surface analysis, short + fall.

From short + hand, in the sense of "handwriting" or "style of penmanship".

From short + handed.

From short list, a list cut down to a manageable length.

From Old English sċortlīċe, from short + -ly.

From short + -ness.

From short + the plural suffix -s.

From short + -some. For sense development from short to amusing, compare merry.

From short + stop.

From short + wave.

From short + -y.

Borrowed from Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (shoshána).

A transliteration of the Russian surname Шостако́вич, ultimately from a Slavic root meaning "sixth".

The past participle of "shoot".

From Georgian შოთა (šota).

From Old English sceota (“trout”).

From shot + gun; the "front passenger seat" sense comes from the phrase "ride shotgun", referring to the armed guard who once sat beside a stagecoach driver.

The past tense of "shall" in Old English, which weakened over time into today's modal verb of advice and expectation.

From Old English sċuldor, of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to "shield".

A clipping of shithouse.

From Middle English shouten, of uncertain origin, possibly related to "shoot" or an Old Norse word for taunting.

Deverbal from shout out.

From shout + -er.

From Old English sċūfan, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to push".

From Old English scofl, related to the verb "shove" plus an instrument-forming suffix.

From shovel + -ful.

From shove + -er (“agent suffix”).

From shove + -ing.

From Old English scēawian ("to look at, display"), related to modern "sheen" and distantly to Latin words behind "caution" and "caveat".

Borrowed from Japanese 昭和 (Shōwa).

From show + boat.

From show + case.