Where does “skin” come from?

skin (Old Saxon) comes from Old Saxon skīnan, from Proto-West Germanic skīnan, from Proto-Germanic skīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱeh₁y- — to shine, shimmer.

skin (Old Saxon): shine

Definitions

  1. shine

Ancestry of “skin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Saxonskīnanto shine
2Proto-West Germanicskīnanto shine; to appear
3Proto-Germanicskīnanąto shine; to appear
4Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱeh₁y-to shine, shimmer
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱeh₁y- →Every word from Proto-Germanic skīnaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic skīnan →