Etymograph

English

sharply

Sharply comes from Old English sċearplīċe ‘sharply, smartly’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerb-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skarpaz1‘sharp’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skarp1‘sharp’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearp2‘sharp’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearplīċe3‘sharply, smartly’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sharply3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1921sharply3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English scearp
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English scearplice
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English sharply
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Ben Travers, Garden City: “Peter, after the manner of man at the breakfast…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kerb-Wiktionary, Old English scearpreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skarpazWiktionary, Old English scearp‘sharp’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skarpWiktionary, Old English scearp‘sharp’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearpWiktionary, Old English scearplice‘sharp’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċearplīċeWiktionary, English sharply‘sharply, smartly’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sharplyWiktionary, English sharply
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1921sharplyWiktionary, English sharply. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Ben Travers, Garden City: “Peter, after the manner of man at the breakfast…”

Linked words

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

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Today it means

adv So as to terminate in a sharp point or edge.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sharply”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English scearp, Old English scearplice. 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)kerb- / sharply

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