Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shekel” come from?

Shekel comes from Hebrew שֶׁקֶל, derived from Hebrew שָׁקַל, which is related to Akkadian 𒂆.

shekel (English): A currency unit of both ancient and modern...

Definitions

  1. A currency unit of both ancient and modern...

Ancestry of “shekel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hebrewשֶׁקֶלsheqel; shekel
2Akkadianšiqlum—
3Proto-Semiticṯqlto weigh; burden, weight
Every word from Proto-Semitic ṯql →