Where does “shortcut” come from?
Shortcut combines English short, from Old English sċeort, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker-, with cut, meaning to take a route or method that is shorter or more direct than the standard one.
shortcut (English): A path between two points that is faster than the...
Definitions
- A path between two points that is faster than the...
Ancestry of “shortcut”, step by step
shortcut traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English short
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | short | Having a small distance from one end or edge to... |
| 2 | Middle English | schort | short as opposed to being tall or long |
| 3 | Old English | sċeort | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skurt | short; lacking, deficient |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skurtaz | short; lacking, deficient |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |