Etymograph

English

shrift

Shrift comes from Middle English shrift ‘confession to a priest’, from Old English sċrift ‘penance, shrift’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, tear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kreybʰ-1‘to scratch, tear’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībō1‘to write’
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrībaną1‘to write’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrīfan1‘of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrift1‘penance, shrift’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500shrift1‘confession to a priest’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595shrift1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English shrift
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “[Friar:] Be plain, good son, and homely in thy…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kreybʰ-Wiktionary, English shrift‘to scratch, tear’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībōWiktionary, English shrift‘to write’
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skrībanąWiktionary, English shrift‘to write’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċrīfanWiktionary, English shrift‘of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċriftWiktionary, English shrift‘penance, shrift’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500shriftWiktionary, English shrift‘confession to a priest’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595shriftWiktionary, English shrift. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “[Friar:] Be plain, good son, and homely in thy…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, tear’

inscribe, 2 more

through Latin scrībō ‘to write’

description, script, prescribe, scribe, scribble, scrivener, 38 more

through Old English sċrīfan ‘of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance’

shriver, 2 more

Today it means

noun The act of going to or hearing a religious confession.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “shrift”. 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)kreybʰ- / shrift

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