Etymograph

English

shade

Shade comes from Middle English schade ‘a shadow’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-1‘darkness, shadow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₃tús1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduz1‘a shadow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skadu1‘shadow’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeadu1‘shadow’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schade1‘a shadow’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1689shade1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English shade
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1689, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […]: “Thus light and colours, as white, red, yellow, blue,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-Wiktionary, English shade‘darkness, shadow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₃túsWiktionary, English shadereconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduzWiktionary, English shade‘a shadow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skaduWiktionary, English shade‘shadow’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeaduWiktionary, English shade‘shadow’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schadeWiktionary, English shade‘a shadow’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1689shadeWiktionary, English shade. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1689, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […]: “Thus light and colours, as white, red, yellow, blue,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- ‘darkness, shadow’

scene, scenario, shame, obscure, squirrel, scenic, scotia, hoar, skene, 31 more

through Proto-West Germanic *skadu ‘shadow’

overshadow

through Old English sċeadu ‘shadow’

shadow, 1 more

Another origin of shade

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-‘darkness, shadow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₃túsreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skaduz‘a shadow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skadu‘shadow’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċeadu‘shadow’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schade‘a shadow’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schaden‘to shade’
  8. Englishtodayshade

Today it means

noun Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “shade”. 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)ḱeh₃- / shade

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