English
shellburst
From shell + burst.
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, split’
Proto-Germanic *skaljō ‘shell, husk’
Proto-West Germanic *skallju
Old English sċiell
Middle English schelle
English shell
Proto-Germanic *brestaną ‘to burst, break, sunder, split, crack’
Proto-West Germanic *brestan ‘to burst, break, sunder, split, crack’
Old English berstan ‘to break, shatter, burst’
Middle English bresten ‘to break, smash’
English burst
Today it means
noun The blast of an explosive shell.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “shellburst”. 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 / shellburst