Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shambling” come from?

Shambling derives from Middle English schambyll, Old English sċeamol, Proto-Germanic skamulaz, Latin scamellum, Latin scabellum, Latin scamnum, and Proto-Italic skaβnom, originally denoting a small bench or stool.

shambling (English): present participle of shamble; Who walks while...

Definitions

  1. present participle of shamble; Who walks while...

Ancestry of “shambling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshambleTo walk while shuffling or dragging the feet; One...
2Middle EnglishschambyllAlternative form of schamel
3Old Englishsċeamol—
4Proto-Germanicskamulaz—
5Latinscamellum—
6Latinscabellumfootstool; a kind of percussion instrument played...
7Latin-lusAlternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix
8Proto-Italic-elos—
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “shambling”

  • shamblingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →