Etymograph

English

skimp

Skimp may come from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną ‘to skip, dance, gesture, mock’, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂emb- ‘to arch, bend, curve’, and ultimately from *kh₂em-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-1‘to bend, curve’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₂emb-1‘to arch, bend, curve’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skimpijaną2‘to skip, dance, gesture, mock’uncertain
  4. Englishtodayskimp2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English skimp

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną‘to bend, curve’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ḱh₂emb-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną‘to arch, bend, curve’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skimpijanąWiktionary, English skimp‘to skip, dance, gesture, mock’uncertain
  4. EnglishtodayskimpWiktionary, English skimp

The story

Possibly distantly related to change.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, curve’

camera, campaign, chamber, champion, campus, chimney, cabaret, kemp, kam, camaraderie, champaign, gam, camber, jamb, cantonment, gamba, chambray, campanile, campagna, 19 more

Today it means

verb To mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “skimp”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną. 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 *kh₂em- / skimp

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