Etymograph

English

scutage

Scutage comes from Latin scutum ‘shield’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to cut, split’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skey-1‘to cut, split’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skoy-tó-m1‘piece of wood, sheath, shield’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skoitom1‘shield’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscutum2‘shield’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500scutagium2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scutage2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769scutage2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin scutum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English scutage
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “The land tax, in its modern shape, has superseded…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skey-Wiktionary, Latin scutum‘to cut, split’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skoy-tó-mWiktionary, Latin scutum‘piece of wood, sheath, shield’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skoitomWiktionary, Latin scutum‘shield’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscutumWiktionary, English scutage‘shield’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500scutagiumWiktionary, English scutage
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scutageWiktionary, English scutage
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769scutageWiktionary, English scutage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “The land tax, in its modern shape, has superseded…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to cut, split’

nice, ship, science, equipment, shift, scientific, shed, skip, kyle, ski, conscious, shin, sheath, skeet, skiff, chine, prescient, skein, shud, 42 more

through Latin scutum ‘shield’

squire, skew, scuttle, scullery, 12 more

Today it means

noun A tax, paid in lieu of military service, that was a significant source of revenue in England in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “scutage”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin scutum. 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 *skey- / scutage

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