Etymograph

English

schilling

Schilling comes from Old High German skilling, from Proto-Germanic *skillingaz ‘shilling (coin)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, separate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-1‘to cut, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skiljaną2‘to separate, distinguish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skillingaz3‘shilling (coin)’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050skilling4
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350schillinc4
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentSchilling3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1957schilling3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skiljaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English schilling
  4. 4 Wiktionary, German Schilling
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Railway Literature: “Die Zwölf Besten Züge Europas. (The Twelve Best Trains…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skiljaną‘to cut, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skiljanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz‘to separate, distinguish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skillingazWiktionary, English schilling‘shilling (coin)’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050skillingWiktionary, German Schilling
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350schillincWiktionary, German Schilling
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentSchillingWiktionary, English schilling
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1957schillingWiktionary, English schilling. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Railway Literature: “Die Zwölf Besten Züge Europas. (The Twelve Best Trains…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, separate’

half, shell, shield, skill, skull, shale, shoal, halter, halve, shelve, hapa, 13 more

through Proto-Germanic *skillingaz ‘shilling (coin)’

shilling, skilling, schelling

Today it means

noun The old currency of Austria, divided into 100 groschen.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “schilling”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *skiljaną, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz, German Schilling. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- / schilling

Shirt and support for this word