Etymograph

English

shut

Shut comes from Old English sċyttan ‘to shoot a bolt, shut’, from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- ‘to drive’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kewd-1‘to drive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skuttą1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skutjaną1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skuttjan1‘to shut’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċyttan1‘to cause rapid movement’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schitten1‘to bring something into a closed position’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667shut1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English shut
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book VIII: “Just then returnd at ſhut of Evening Flours.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kewd-Wiktionary, English shut‘to drive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skuttąWiktionary, English shutreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skutjanąWiktionary, English shutreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skuttjanWiktionary, English shut‘to shut’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċyttanWiktionary, English shut‘to cause rapid movement’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schittenWiktionary, English shut‘to bring something into a closed position’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667shutWiktionary, English shut. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book VIII: “Just then returnd at ſhut of Evening Flours.”

The story

The Modern English word was originally a dialect form; the Old English word would have normally merged with shit.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- ‘to drive, fall upon, rush’

sheet, scoot, scud, 2 more

Today it means

verb To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “shut”. 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)kewd- / shut

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