MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
lit
Alteration of earlier light, from Middle English lighte, from Old English līhtte, first and third person singular preterite of līhtan (“to light”), by analogy with bit. More at light; compare fit (“fought”).
This form was proscribed during the 18th and 19th centuries, with lighted being preferred, but is now the most common past form of light.
From Middle English lit, lut, from Old English lȳt (“little, few”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz (“little, small”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to cower, hunch over”). Cognate with Old Saxon lut (“little”), Middle High German lützen (“to make small or low, decrease”). More at little.
From Middle English lit, from Old Norse litr (“colour, dye, complexion, face, countenance”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlitaz (“sight, face”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Icelandic litur (“colour”), Old English wlite (“brightness, appearance, form, aspect, look, countenance, beauty, splendor, adornment”), Old English wlītan (“to gaze, look, observe”).
From Middle English litten, liten, from Old Norse lita (“to colour”), from litr (“colour”). See above.
drivel
From Middle English dravel, dribil, a deverbal from drevelen, drivelen (Etymology 2).
From Middle English drevelen, drivelen, from Old English dreflian (“to drivel, slobber, slaver”), from Proto-Germanic *drablijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerebʰ- (“cloudy, turbid; yeast”).
From Middle English drivel, probably from driven + -el, unless borrowed from an equivalent word in another West Germanic language. Compare Old Dutch drevel (“scullion”).
baloney
Origin unclear. Perhaps from the Polari slang word balonie. Alternatively, perhaps simply from bologna (“sausage”), possibly used as a minced oath for bullshit.
pula
Borrowed from Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà.
Borrowed from Serbo-Croatian Pula.
Various origins:
* Borrowed from Polish Pula, perhaps a nickname from pula (“shirttail, coattail”) or from pola (“tasteless soup”).
* Borrowed from Italian Pula, a variant of Pola.
* Borrowed from Telugu పులా (pulā). This surname is predominantly found in Andhra Pradesh.
lost
From Middle English loste, losede (preterite) and Middle English lost, ilost, ilosed (past participle), from Old English losode (preterite) and Old English losod, ġelosod, equivalent to lose + -t.
reading
From Middle English reding, redyng, redand, from Old English rǣdende, present participle of rǣdan (“to read”), equivalent to read + -ing.
From Middle English reding, redynge, redunge, from Old English rǣding (“reading”), equivalent to read + -ing.
From Old English Rēadingas, the name of a tribe or clan of early Anglo-Saxon England whose capital was at Reading. Not related to reading.
make
From Middle English maken, from Old English macian (“to make, build, work”), from Proto-West Germanic *makōn (“to make, build, work”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ǵ- (“to knead, mix, make”).
Related to match.
Cognates
* Scots mak (“to make”)
* Saterland Frisian moakje (“to make”)
* West Frisian meitsje (“to make”)
* Dutch maken (“to make”)
* Dutch Low Saxon maken (“to make”)
* German Low German maken (“to make”)
* German machen (“to make, do”)
* Danish mage (“to make, arrange (in a certain way)”)
* Latin mācerō, macer
* Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō)
From Middle English make, imake, ȝemace, from Old English ġemaca (“a mate, an equal, companion, peer”), from Proto-West Germanic *gamakō, from Proto-Germanic *gamakô (“companion, comrade”), from Proto-Indo-European *maǵ- (“to knead, oil”). Reinforced by Old Norse maki (“an equal”).
Cognate with Icelandic maki (“spouse”), Swedish make (“spouse, husband”), Danish mage (“companion, fellow, mate”). Doublet of match.
made
From Middle English mathe, from Old English maþu, maþa (“maggot, worm, grub”), from Proto-Germanic *maþô (“maggot”), from Proto-Indo-European *mot- (“worm, grub, caterpillar, moth”). Cognate with Scots mathe, maithe (“maggot”), Dutch made (“maggot”), German Made (“maggot”). More at maggot.
From Middle English made, makede, makode (preterite) and maad, mad, maked (past participle), from Old English macode (first and third person preterite) and macod, gemacode, ġemacod (past participle), from macian (“to make”). More at make.
meant
From Middle English ment, mente, from Old English mǣnde, mǣndon, etc. Equivalent to mean + -t.
meet
From Middle English meten, from Old English mētan (“to meet, find, encounter”), from Proto-West Germanic *mōtijan (“to meet”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną (“to meet”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to come, meet”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots met, mete, meit (“to meet”), North Frisian meet, mätje, möt (“to meet”), West Frisian mette, moetsje (“to meet”), Dutch ontmoeten (“to meet”), Low German möten (“to meet”), Danish møde (“to meet”), Elfdalian my̨öt (“to meet”), Faroese møta (“to meet”), Icelandic mæta (“to meet”), Norwegian Bokmål møte (“to meet”), Norwegian Nynorsk møta, møte (“to meet”), Swedish möta (“to meet”). Related to moot.
From Middle English mete, imete, from Old English ġemǣte (“suitable, having the same measurements”), from the Proto-Germanic *gamētijaz, *mētiz (“reasonable; estimable”) (cognate with Dutch meten (“measure”), German gemäß (“suitable”) etc.), itself from collective prefix *ga- + Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”).
met
From Middle English meten (“to dream”), from Old English mætan (“to dream”).
mishear
From Middle English misheren, from Old English mishȳran, mishīeran (“to hear amiss, not listen to, disobey”), equivalent to mis- + hear.
mislead
From Middle English mysleden, from Old English mislǣdan (“to mislead”), from Proto-Germanic *missalaidijaną (“to mislead”). By surface analysis, mis- + lead.
misread
From Middle English misreden, from Old English misrǣdan (“to advise wrongly; read wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + read. Cognate with Saterland Frisian misräide (“to go wrong, fail”), Dutch misraden (“to guess wrongly”), German missraten (“to fail; go wrong; become wayward”). For the noun, compare Old English misrǣd (“misguidance; misconduct”).
mistake
From Middle English mistaken, from Old Norse mistaka (“to take in error, to miscarry”); equivalent to mis- + take. Cognate with Icelandic mistaka (“to mistake”), Swedish missta (“to mistake”) (before apocope misstaga).
The noun, which replaced earlier mistaking, is derived from the verb. Compare Swedish misstag (“mistake”, noun), Faroese mistak (“mitake”, noun), Icelandic mistak (“mistake”, noun).
writing
From Middle English writing, writyng, wryting, wrytyng, from Old English wrīting (“writing”), equivalent to write + -ing.
From Middle English writinge, wrytynge, writende, writand, from Old English wrītende, present participle of Old English wrītan (“to scratch, carve, write”), equivalent to write + -ing.
handiwork
From Middle English hondywerk, handiwerc, from Old English handġeweorc (“work done by hand, creation”), from hand (“hand”) + ġeweorc (“work”). Equivalent to hand + work, though it may now be reinterpreted as handy (“skilful”) + work. Compare Saterland Frisian Hondwierk, Dutch handwerk, German Handwerk.
back
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.?
Proto-Germanic *baką
Proto-West Germanic *bak
Old English bæc
Middle English bak
English back
From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback.
Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).
Borrowed from French bac.
archaic
From archaism (“ancient or obsolete phrase or expression”) or from French archaïque, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊκός (arkhaïkós, “old-fashioned”), from ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “from the beginning, antiquated, ancient, old”), from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “beginning, origin”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to be first”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”).
hogwash
From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog's wash”)), equivalent to hog + wash.
bull
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der.
Proto-Germanic *bulô
Old English bula
▲
Proto-Germanic *bulô
Old Norse bolibor.
Middle English bole
English bull
From Middle English bole, bul, bule, from a conflation of Old English bula (“bull, steer”) and Old Norse boli, both from Proto-Germanic *bulô (“bull”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥no-, from *bʰel- (“to blow, swell up”). Cognate with West Frisian bolle, Dutch bul, German Low German Bull, German Bulle, Swedish bulla; also Old Irish ball (“limb”), Latin follis (“bellows, leather bag”), Albanian bolle (“testicles”), Ancient Greek φαλλός (phallós, “penis”). Of sense 11, (a man or boy), derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of boy, which is practically a homophone of bull.
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bew-der.?
Latin *bʰel-der.?
Latin bullabor.
Old French bullebor.
Middle English bulle
English bull
From Middle English bulle, from Old French bulle, from Latin bulla, from Gaulish. Doublet of bull (“bubble”) and bulla.
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-
Proto-Germanic *bō-
Middle Low German bôlenbor.
Old French bouler
Old French boulbor.
Middle English bull
English bull
From Middle English bull, bul, boule (“falsehood, deceit”), probably from Old French boul, boule, bole (“fraud, deceit, cunning”), from Old French bouler, boler (“to deceive, delude, lure, take in”), from Middle Low German bôlen (“to court, to woo”). Cognate with German buhlen (“to woo”). Doublet of bully.
Often reanalyzed by surface analysis to be an expurgated clipping of bullshit.
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bew-der.?
Latin *bʰel-der.?
Latin bullabor.
Old French bullebor.
Middle English bowle
English bull
From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French bulle, boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“round swelling”), of Gaulish origin. Doublet of bull (“papal bull”) and bulla.
contraction
PIE word
 *ḱóm
From Late Middle English contraccioun, contraxion (“spasm, contraction; constriction, shrinking; act of pressing together”), from Old French contraction (modern French contraction), from Latin contractiō(n) (“a drawing together, contraction; abridgement, shortening; dejection, despondency”), from contrahō (“to draw things together, assemble, collect, gather; to enter into a contract”) + -tiō(n) (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results). Contrahō is derived from con- (prefix denoting a bringing together of objects) + trahō (“to drag, pull”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)). By surface analysis, contract + -ion (suffix denoting actions or processes, or their results).
bog
Inherited from Middle English bog (originally chiefly in Ireland and Scotland), from Irish and Scottish Gaelic bogach (“soft, boggy ground”), from Old Irish bog (“soft”), from Proto-Celtic *buggos (“soft, tender”) + Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-ākos.
The frequent use to form compounds regarding the animals and plants in such areas mimics Irish compositions such as bog-luachair (“bulrush, bogrush”).
Its use for toilets is now often derived from the resemblance of latrines and outhouse cesspools to bogholes, but the noun sense appears to be a clipped form of boghouse (“outhouse, privy”), which derived (possibly via boggard) from the verb to bog, still used in Australian English. The derivation and its connection to other senses of "bog" remains uncertain, however, owing to an extreme lack of early citations due to its perceived vulgarity.
tomorrow
From Middle English tomorwe, tomorwen, from Old English tō morgne (“tomorrow”, adverb), from tō (“at, on”) + morgne (dative of morgen (“morning”)), from Proto-Germanic *murganaz (“morning”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mergʰ- (“to blink, to twinkle”), equivalent to to- + morrow.
Compare French demain, Dutch morgen, German morgen, Swedish imorgon or Danish i morgen.
trousers
Attested since the 1610s, from the earlier form trouzes (attested since the 1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Middle Irish triubus (“close-fitting shorts”), from Old Irish tribus, of uncertain origin. The unexplained intrusive second -r- is perhaps due to the influence of drawers. Doublet of trews (“trousers”).
Old Irish tribus is probably a borrowing of Anglo-Norman tribuz, trebuz, from Old French trebus, from Old Occitan trebucs, trabucs, from Late Latin trabrugi, tribuces, tubruci (“leg-coverings”), from an early Germanic language, likely Gothic *𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌺𐍃 (*þiuhbrōks), from Proto-Germanic *þeuhabrōks (“loincloth, trousers”), from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą (“thigh”) + *brōks (“leggings, trousers”), thus making it by surface analysis, thigh + breeches. Cognate with Old High German diohbruoh (“loincloth, trousers”), whence obsolete German Diechbruch (“short legwear, knee breeches, loincloth”).
paint
From Middle English peynten, from Old French peintier, paincter, itself from paint, the past participle of paindre, from Latin pingō (“to paint”) (perfect passive participle pictus). Displaced native Old English tēafor (“paint”), *tīefran (“to paint”); and Old English mētan (“to paint”) and mǣlan (“to paint, mark with colour”).
machine
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-der.?
Doric Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ)
Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́)bor.
Latin māchinabor.
Middle French machinebor.
English machine
Borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina (“a machine, engine, contrivance, device, stratagem, trick”), from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́), cognate with Attic Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ, “a machine, engine, contrivance, device”), from which comes mechanical. Displaced native Old English searu.
sheep
Inherited from Middle English schep, schepe, from Anglian Old English sċēp (West Saxon sċēap), from Proto-West Germanic *skāp, from Proto-Germanic *skēpą, of unknown origin.
Perhaps from the same Scythian word (compare Ossetian цӕу (cæw, “goat”), Persian چپش (čapiš, “yearling goat”)) which was borrowed into Albanian as cjap, sqap (“buck”) and into Slavic (compare Polish cap). After Kroonen, *skēpą is instead from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scratch”) via Kluge's law.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots sheep (“sheep”), Yola sheep, zheep (“sheep”), North Frisian schep, schäip, Sjip (“sheep”), Saterland Frisian Schäip, Skäip (“sheep”), West Frisian skiep (“sheep”), Alemannic German Schaf, Schooff (“sheep”), Bavarian Schof, Schouf, Schåf (“sheep”), Dutch schaap (“sheep”), German Schaf (“sheep”), German Low German Schaap (“sheep”), Limburgish Schoëp, sjaop (“sheep”), Luxembourgish Schof (“sheep”), Vilamovian siöf (“sheep”), Yiddish שאָף (shof, “sheep”).
rod
Etymology tree
Old English *rodd
Middle English rodde
English rod
From Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”).
Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *rȍdъ.
oar
From Middle English ore (“oar”), from Old English ār, from Proto-West Germanic *airu, from Proto-Germanic *airō (“oar”). Cognate with Old Norse ár.
with
From Middle English with, from Old English wiþ (“against, opposite, toward, with”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþi, a shortened form of Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“against”). In Middle English, the word shifted to denote association rather than opposition, displacing Middle English mid (“with”), from Old English mid (“with”), from Proto-Germanic *midi; an earlier model of this meaning shift exists in cognate Old Norse við; elsewhere, the converse meaning shift is exemplified by Old South Arabian 𐩨𐩺𐩬 (byn, “between, amid”) spawning Old South Arabian 𐩨𐩬 (bn, “against”) and even likewise frequent reverse meaning 𐩨𐩬 (bn, “from”). The adverb sense is probably a semantic loan from various other Germanic languages, such as German mit, Norwegian med, and Swedish med.
From Middle English withe, wiþþe, from Old English wiþþe. More at withe.
wine
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y-?
Proto-Indo-European *-ō?
Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō
Proto-Italic *wīnom
Latin vīnumbor.
Proto-Germanic *wīną
Proto-West Germanic *wīn
Old English wīn
Middle English wyn
English wine
From Middle English wyn, win, from Old English wīn, from Proto-West Germanic *wīn, from Proto-Germanic *wīną, either directly or via Latin vīnum (from Proto-Italic *wīnom) from Proto-Indo-European *wóyh₁nom (“wine”). Doublet of vine and vino.
From Jamaican Creole [Term?], related to wind (verb).
* As an English surname, from the noun wine.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Wein.
wool
From Middle English wolle, from Old English wull, from Proto-West Germanic *wullu, from Proto-Germanic *wullō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Wulle, German Low German Wull, Dutch wol, German Wolle, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ull, Danish uld; also Welsh gwlân, Latin lāna, Lithuanian vi̇̀lna, Russian во́лос (vólos), Slovak vlna, Bulgarian влас (vlas), Albanian lesh (“wool, hair, fleece”). Doublet of lana.
The vowel development u → o → oo is purely graphical. Modern English generally avoids the string ⟨wu⟩ in favour of ⟨wo⟩, and the resulting woll was then altered to wool (as supposedly better representing the pronunciation).
tractor
Formed from Latin tractus, perfect passive participle of trahere (“to pull”), + agent noun suffix -or.
canal
Borrowed from Middle French canal, from Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”), from canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of channel.
morphology
Borrowed from German Morphologie. By surface analysis, morpho- + -logy.
trite
Unadapted borrowing from Latin tritē, from Ancient Greek τρίτη (trítē, literally “third [string]”).
legal
Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.
criminal
From Middle English cryminal, borrowed from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen (“crime”).
actor
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Latin āctus
Proto-Indo-European *-tōr
Proto-Italic *-tōr
Latin -tor
Latin āctorbor.
Middle English actour
English actor
Inherited from Middle English actour, from Anglo-Norman actor, Middle French actor, and their source, Latin āctor (“doer”), from agō (“to do”). Equivalent to act + -or. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄκτωρ (áktōr, “leader”), from ἄγω (ágō, “lead, carry, convey, bring”).
cable
Recorded since c.1205 as Middle English cable, from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter”), from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”). Use of the term "cable" to refer to the USD/GBP exchange rate originated in the mid-19th century, when the exchange rate began to be transmitted across the Atlantic by a submarine communications cable.
funeral
Borrowed from Middle French funerailles pl (“funeral rites”), from Medieval Latin fūnerālia (“funeral rites”), originally neuter plural of Late Latin fūnerālis (“having to do with a funeral”), from Latin fūnus (“funeral, death, corpse”), origin unknown, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- (“to die”). Singular and plural used interchangeably in English until circa 1700. The adjective funereal is first attested 1725, by influence of Middle French funerail, from Latin funereus, from funus. First attested in 1437.
Displaced native Old English līcþeġnung (literally “dead body service”).
rhetoric
From Middle English rethorik, from Latin rēthoricus, rhētoricus, from Ancient Greek ῥητορῐκός (rhētorĭkós). By surface analysis, rhetor + -ic.
From Middle English rethorik, rhetoric, from Old French rhetorique, from Latin rhētorica, from Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ), ellipsis of ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē), from ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speech”), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”).
internal
From Middle English internall, internalle, borrowing from New Latin internālis (“of or pertaining to the inner part”), from internus (“inward, internal”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). By surface analysis, intern + -al.
rhetorical
From Middle English rethorycal, rethoricalle, rethorycall, from rethorik, rhetoric (noun) or Latin rēthoricus, rhētoricus, from Ancient Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speaking”). By surface analysis, rhetoric + -al.
central
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱent-der.
Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron)der.
Latin centrum
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -ālis
Latin centrālisbor.
English central
Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“centre”), from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron); by surface analysis, centre + -al.
comic
From Latin comicus, from Ancient Greek κωμικός (kōmikós, “relating to comedy”), from κῶμος (kômos, “carousal”).
comical
From Middle English comicalle, from Latin cōmicus + Middle English -alle (modern -al). By surface analysis, comic + -al.
ideal
From French idéal, from Late Latin ideālis (“existing in idea”), by surface analysis, idea + -al, from Latin idea (“idea”); see idea.
In mathematics, the noun ring theory sense was first introduced by German mathematician Richard Dedekind in his 1871 edition of a text on number theory. The concept was quickly expanded to ring theory and later generalised to order theory. The set theory and Lie theory senses can be regarded as applications of the order theory sense.
inflection
From older inflexion, borrowed from Middle French inflexion, itself borrowed from Latin inflexiōnem (“alteration”, literally “bending”). The English spelling with ⟨ct⟩ is due to influence from inflect or related words like correction.
spell
From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix. Cognate with dialectal German Spill, Icelandic spjall (“discussion, talk”), spjalla (“to discuss, to talk”), guðspjall (“gospel”) and Albanian fjalë (“word”).
From Middle English spellen, from Anglo-Norman espeler, espeleir, Old French espeller, espeler (compare Modern French épeler), from Frankish *spelōn, merged with native Old English spellian (“to tell, speak”), both eventually from Proto-Germanic *spellōną (“to speak”). Related with etymology 1. The sense “indicate a future event” probably in part a backformation from forespell (literally “to tell in advance”).
From Middle English spelen, from Old English spelian (“to represent, take or stand in the place of another, act as a representative of another”), akin to Middle English spale (“a rest or break”), Old English spala (“representative, substitute”).
From Middle English spel (“a thin piece of wood”), from Old Norse [Term?].
From the German surname, perhaps related to Speller.
shirt
From Middle English sherte, shurte, schirte, from Old English sċyrte (“a short garment; skirt; kirtle”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurtijā, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ (“a short garment, skirt, apron”), from *skurtaz (“short”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Schoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skjorte (“shirt”), Norwegian skjorte (“shirt”), Swedish skjorta (“shirt”), Faroese skjúrta (“shirt”), Icelandic skyrta (“shirt”).
Doublet of skirt via Old Norse; further related to short.
From Middle English sherten, shirten (also shorten), from the noun (see above).