Where does “shrimple” come from?
shrimple (English) comes from English simple, from Middle English symple, from Old French simple, from Latin simplex, from Latin -plex, from Latin plicō, from Proto-Indo-European pleḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European pel- — to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold.
Ancestry of “shrimple”, step by step
shrimple traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English simple
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | simple | Uncomplicated; taken by itself, with nothing... |
| 2 | Middle English | symple | virtuous, godly, without sin; simple, spartan,... |
| 3 | Old French | simple | innocent; mere; simple; honest; without pretense |
| 4 | Latin | simplex | single; simple, plain, uncompounded; pure,... |
| 5 | Latin | -plex | -fold |
| 6 | Latin | plicō | to fold, bend or flex; to roll up |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleḱ- | to fold, plait, weave |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pel- | to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold |
via English shrimp
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shrimp | Any of many swimming, often edible crustaceans,... |
| 2 | Middle English | schrimpe | shrimp, puny person |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | skrimpaz | shrivelled |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | skrimpaną | to contract, to shrink |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kerbʰ- | to scratch, scrape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ker- | to cut off; to turn, bend |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |