Where does “shamefaced” come from?
Shamefaced comes from Middle English schamefast, from Old English sceamfæst, combining sceam (shame) and -fæst (firm, fixed), originally meaning shame-bound or constrained by shame.
shamefaced (English): Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment;...
Definitions
- Bashful, showing modesty or embarrassment;...
Ancestry of “shamefaced”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shamefast | Bashful, modest; shy |
| 2 | Middle English | schamefast | Modest, humble; not arrogant or proud |
| 3 | Old English | scamfæst | Alternative form of sċeamfæst; bashful, shy,... |
| 4 | Old English | sċamu | shame, embarrassment |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *skamu | shame |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skamō | shame |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱeh₃- | darkness, shadow |