English
shearling
Shearling comes from Middle English scheren ‘to injure by slashing or slicing’, from Old English sċieran ‘to shear’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skeraną2‘to shear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeran2‘to shear, to cut’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċieran2‘to shear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scheren3‘to injure by slashing or slicing’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scherling4
- Englishearliest quotation 1853shearling4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skeraną, which cites Kroonen
- 2 Wiktionary, Middle English scheren
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle English scherling
- 4 Wiktionary, English shearling
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, David Low, On the Domesticated Animals of the British Isles: “They are rarely fattened when shearlings, the usual period…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skeraną, which cites Kroonen‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skeranąWiktionary, Middle English scheren‘to shear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skeranWiktionary, Middle English scheren‘to shear, to cut’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċieranWiktionary, Middle English scheren‘to shear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scherenWiktionary, Middle English scherling‘to injure by slashing or slicing’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scherlingWiktionary, English shearling
- Englishearliest quotation 1853shearlingWiktionary, English shearling. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, David Low, On the Domesticated Animals of the British Isles: “They are rarely fattened when shearlings, the usual period…”
Formed from shear + -ling
Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’
Proto-Germanic *skeraną ‘to shear’
Proto-West Germanic *skeran ‘to shear, to cut’
Old English sċieran ‘to shear’
Middle English sheren
English shear
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’
across, short, cross, cancer, screen, score, card, share, circle, circuit, shirt, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, scare, curb, cancellation, carnival, crest, scrutiny, circa, scar, corona, scorpion, shrine, raffle, circulate, corolla, carnage, incarceration, shred, crux, cirque, shrewd, riddance, circulatory, crepe, carcinoma, 116 more
through Proto-Germanic *skeraną ‘to shear’
Today it means
noun A sheep that has been shorn for the first time
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “shearling”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *skeraną, Middle English scheren, Middle English scherling. 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- / shearling