Etymograph

English

skilling

Skilling comes from Swedish skilling ‘a skilling (coin)’, from Proto-Germanic *skiljaną ‘to separate, distinguish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-1‘to cut, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skiljaną2‘to separate, distinguish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skillingaz3‘shilling (coin)’reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350skillingr3
  5. Old Swedishmodernskillinger3
  6. Swedishmodernskilling4‘a skilling (coin)’
  7. Englishtodayskilling4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skiljaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Swedish skilling
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English skilling

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kelH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skiljaną‘to cut, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skiljanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz‘to separate, distinguish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skillingazWiktionary, Swedish skilling‘shilling (coin)’reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350skillingrWiktionary, Swedish skilling
  5. Old SwedishmodernskillingerWiktionary, Swedish skilling
  6. SwedishmodernskillingWiktionary, English skilling‘a skilling (coin)’
  7. EnglishtodayskillingWiktionary, English skilling

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut, separate’

half, shield, shell, shale, skull, shoal, halter, halve, shelve, hapa, 14 more

through Proto-Germanic *skillingaz ‘shilling (coin)’

shilling, schilling, schelling

Today it means

noun A Scandinavian monetary unit and coin up to the 19th century. (A subdivision of the Swedish riksdaler, the Danish and Norwegian rigsdaler and speciedaler).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “skilling”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *skiljaną, Proto-Germanic *skillingaz, Swedish skilling. 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)kelH- / skilling

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