Where does “shale” come from?
Shale comes from Middle English schale, Old English sċealu, Proto-Germanic skalō, and Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH-, ultimately from the root (s)kel- meaning to split or divide.
shale (English): A shell or husk; a cod or pod; A fine-grained...
Definitions
- A shell or husk; a cod or pod; A fine-grained...
Ancestry of “shale”, step by step
shale traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English schale
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | schale | shell, husk; scale |
| 2 | Old English | sċealu | shell, husk; shell, husk, pod; husk |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *skalu | shell, husk |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | skalō | shell; lump, ball |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kelH- | to cut; to split, to separate |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kel- | to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,... |