Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shellfish” come from?

Shellfish derives from Middle English schellefyssch, a compound of shell and fish referring to aquatic creatures with hard outer coverings.

shellfish (English): An aquatic invertebrate having a shell, such as a...

Definitions

  1. An aquatic invertebrate having a shell, such as a...

Ancestry of “shellfish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschellefyssch—
Every word from Middle English schellefyssch →