Etymograph

English

sharp

Sharp comes from Old English sċearp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerbʰ-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skerpaną1‘to scrape’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skarpaz1‘sharp’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skarp1‘sharp’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearp1‘sharp’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scharp1‘sharp’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595sharp1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sharp
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, English sharp‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerbʰ-Wiktionary, English sharp‘to cut’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skerpanąWiktionary, English sharp‘to scrape’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skarpazWiktionary, English sharp‘sharp’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skarpWiktionary, English sharp‘sharp’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearpWiktionary, English sharp‘sharp’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scharpWiktionary, English sharp‘sharp’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595sharpWiktionary, English sharp. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with sharp, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-

  • scrub ← shrobbe ← scrybb ← *skrubbiju ← *skrubbijō

5 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sharp”. 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)ker- / sharp