Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shades” come from?

Shades comes from Middle English schade, Old English sċeadu, and Proto-Germanic skadwaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning shadow or darkness.

shades (English): plural of shade; API pl; Sunglasses

Definitions

  1. plural of shade; API pl; Sunglasses

Ancestry of “shades”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshadeDarkness where light, particularly sunlight, is...
2Middle EnglishschadeA shadow or a similar effect; A shade or...
3Old Englishsċeadushadow, shade; darkness; protection
4Proto-West Germanicskadushadow
5Proto-Germanicskaduz—
6Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱeh₃-darkness, shadow

Words derived from “shades”

  • mirrorshades
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱeh₃- →