Etymograph

English

ship

Ship comes from Middle English chip, from Old English sċip, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skipą.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skipą1‘ship’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skip1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċip1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chip1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1944ship1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ship
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1944, Wolfgang Langewiesche: “This means that the landing wheels are not so…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skipąWiktionary, English ship‘ship’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skipWiktionary, English shipreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċipWiktionary, English ship
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chipWiktionary, English ship
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1944shipWiktionary, English ship. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1944, Wolfgang Langewiesche: “This means that the landing wheels are not so…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’

saw, sex, design, sign, risk, section, sexual, seal, segment, sack, insect, scarlet, sawyer, sax, sickle, het, dissect, scythe, sich, shingle, seg, sedge, sigil, brassica, desiccation, sain, desiccant, 62 more

through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to split’

nice, science, scientific, conscious, kyle, ski, shift, shed, squire, skipper, shin, sheath, skeet, scuttle, prescient, skein, scullery, chine, shud, 42 more

through Proto-Germanic *skipą

equipment, skiff, 5 more

through Old English sċip

skip, 3 more

through Middle English chip

chip, chiffon

Another origin of ship

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skey-‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skēi-b-uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skipąreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skipōną‘to arrange, set up’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skipōn‘to arrange, set up’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċipian
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schippen
  8. Englishtodayship

Today it means

noun A water-borne vessel generally larger than a boat.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ship”. 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 *skipą / ship

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