Etymograph

English

school

School comes from Old English scōl ‘place of education’, from Latin schola ‘school, lecture’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek σχολή ‘spare time, leisure’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσχολή1skholḗ‘spare time, leisure’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEschola1‘school, lecture’
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skōlu1‘school’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150scōl1‘place of education’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scole1‘school’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1620school1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English school
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1620, Thomas Dekker, The Worme of Conscience: “I tooke delights / In plucking Apples from t’Heſperian…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσχολήWiktionary, English schoolskholḗ‘spare time, leisure’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEscholaWiktionary, English school‘school, lecture’
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skōluWiktionary, English school‘school’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150scōlWiktionary, English school‘place of education’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scoleWiktionary, English school‘school’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1620schoolWiktionary, English school. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1620, Thomas Dekker, The Worme of Conscience: “I tooke delights / In plucking Apples from t’Heſperian…”

The story

Influenced in some senses by Middle English schole (‘group of persons, host, company’), from Middle Dutch scole (‘multitude, troop, band’). Related also to Old High German sigi (German Sieg, “victory”), Old English siġe, sigor (‘victory’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- ‘to hold, have, possess’

severe, sketch, severity, hector, perseverance, hectic, epoch, schema, 23 more

through Ancient Greek σχολή ‘spare time, leisure’

scholastic, 4 more

through Late Latin schola ‘Leisure time given to learning’

scholar, shul, 1 more

Another origin of school

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kʷel-‘crowd, people’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skulu‘troop, group’reconstructed
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*scolareconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500scole‘multitude, troop of people, swarm of animals’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scole‘group of persons, multitude, host, school of fish’
  6. Englishtodayschool

Today it means

noun An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “school”. 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 / Ancient Greek σχολή / school

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