Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shake” come from?

Shake comes from Middle English schaken, from Old English sċeacan, of unknown origin.

shake (English): To cause to move rapidly in opposite directions...

Definitions

  1. To cause to move rapidly in opposite directions...

Ancestry of “shake”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschaken—
2Old Englishsċeacan—

Words derived from “shake”

  • shaking
  • shaken
  • shaky
  • handshake
  • unshaken
  • Shaker
  • shaker
  • unshakable
  • shakily
  • unshakeable
  • handshaking
  • milkshake
  • shakiness
  • earthshaking
  • shakeout
  • headshake
  • shakeup
  • unshakably
  • Shakerism
  • shaketh
  • headshaking
  • unshakeably
  • shakingly
  • boneshaker
Every word from Old English sċeacan →