Where does “sheepskin” come from?

Sheepskin comes from Middle English shepskin, from Old English sċēap (sheep) and skinn (skin), ultimately from Proto-Germanic skēpą and skīnnan, tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots for animal pelts and splitting.

sheepskin (English): The skin of a sheep, especially when used to make...

Definitions

  1. The skin of a sheep, especially when used to make...

Ancestry of “sheepskin”, step by step

sheepskin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English sheep

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsheepA woolly ruminant of the genus "Ovis"; A timid,...
2Middle Englishsheepsheep
3Old Englishsċēapsheep
4Proto-West Germanicskāpsheep
5Proto-Germanicskapąshape
6Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...

via English Skin

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSkinThe outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human
2Middle EnglishskynThe skin; A layer or cover located in the inside...

Words derived from “sheepskin”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →Every word from Proto-Germanic skapjaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic skapą →