Where does “escutcheon” come from?
Escutcheon derives from Old French escuchon, formed from Old French scuchon with the diminutive suffix -on, ultimately from Latin scutum meaning shield, tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots skei- and sek-.
escutcheon (English): An individual or corporate coat of arms; A small...
Definitions
- An individual or corporate coat of arms; A small...
Ancestry of “escutcheon”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | scochon | escutcheon, coat of arms |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | escuchon | small shield; escutcheon |
| 3 | Old French | escu | Alternative form of escut; shield |
| 4 | Latin | scūtum | a type of shield: the scutum, the large oblong wooden shield carried by the Roman infantry |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | skei- | to cut, to divide, to separate; to cut, split; to... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |