Etymograph

English

shame

Shame comes from Middle English schame ‘modesty, reserve, timidity’, from Old English sċamu ‘shame, embarrassment’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skamō.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skamō1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skamu1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċamu1‘shame’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schame1‘modesty’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1564shame1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English shame
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Erasmus, The Saiynges of Aristippus: “When he had saied no: what (ſaid Ariſtippus) is…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skamōWiktionary, English shamereconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skamuWiktionary, English shamereconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċamuWiktionary, English shame‘shame’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schameWiktionary, English shame‘modesty’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1564shameWiktionary, English shame. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Erasmus, The Saiynges of Aristippus: “When he had saied no: what (ſaid Ariſtippus) is…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- ‘dark(ness)’

scene, scenario, shadow, obscure, squirrel, scenic, shade, scotia, hoar, skene, 31 more

Another origin of shame

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱeh₃-‘dark(ness)’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skamōreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skamāną‘to be ashamed’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skamēn‘to be ashamed’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċamian‘to be ashamed or embarrassed’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schamen‘to be ashamed of or feel regretful about oneself’
  7. Englishtodayshame

Today it means

noun An uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “shame”. 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-Germanic *skamō / shame

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