Where does “shaft” come from?

Shaft comes from Middle English schaft, from Old English ġesċeaft, from Proto-Germanic skaftaz, from Proto-Indo-European skeh₂p-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)kep-.

shaft (English): The entire body of a long weapon, such as an...

Definitions

  1. The entire body of a long weapon, such as an...

Ancestry of “shaft”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsċeaftshaft; creation
2Old Englishsċieppanto form; shape
3Proto-West Germanicskappjanto make, to create
4Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
5Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...

Words derived from “shaft”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →