Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shallow” come from?

Shallow comes from Middle English schalowe, of uncertain origin and ultimate derivation.

shallow (English): Having little depth; significantly less deep than...

Definitions

  1. Having little depth; significantly less deep than...

Ancestry of “shallow”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschalowenot deep, shallow
2Proto-Germanic*skal-—
3Proto-Indo-European(s)kelh₁-to parch, wither

Words derived from “shallow”

  • shallows
  • shallowness
  • shallowly
  • shallowhearted
  • shallowish
  • shallowpate
  • nonshallow
  • shallow-hearted
  • shallow-heartedness
  • shallowheartedness
  • unshallow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelh₁- →