Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shame” come from?

Shame comes from Middle English schamen, from Old English sċamian, from Proto-Germanic skamāną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European skoh₃méh₂.

shame (English): Uncomfortable or painful feeling due to...

Definitions

  1. Uncomfortable or painful feeling due to...

Ancestry of “shame”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschamen—
2Old Englishsċamian—
3Proto-West Germanicskamēnto be ashamed
4Proto-Germanicskamānąto be ashamed
5Proto-Germanic-ānąCreates factitive verbs from adjectives, later...
6Proto-Germanic-ajaną—
7Proto-Indo-European-oyétiCreates factitive verbs from adjectives
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “shame”

  • sham
  • shameth
  • shammer
  • shamer
  • shamateurism
  • shamest
  • shameworthy
  • outshame
  • shamateur
  • shamee
  • unshameable
  • sham Abraham
  • shameable
  • beshame
  • shamable
  • shammish
  • fat-shame
  • Abraham sham
  • shamelike
  • shameproof
  • antishame
  • shamar
  • shamo
  • shem
Every word from Chichewa iye →