Etymograph

English

skinner

Skinner comes from Middle English skynner ‘a worker or retailer of hides or pelts’, from skyn ‘a hide, fur or skin of an animal, especially…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kenH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kenH-1‘skin, rind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skinþą2‘human skin’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350skinn2‘skin’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150scinn2‘a skin’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500skyn3‘a hide, fur or skin of an animal, especially used as a garment’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500skynner4‘a worker or retailer of hides or pelts’
  7. Englishtodayskinner4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skinþą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English skyn
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English skynner
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English skinner

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kenH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *skinþą‘skin, rind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skinþąWiktionary, Middle English skyn‘human skin’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350skinnWiktionary, Middle English skyn‘skin’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150scinnWiktionary, Middle English skyn‘a skin’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500skynWiktionary, Middle English skynner‘a hide, fur or skin of an animal, especially used as a garment’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500skynnerWiktionary, English skinner‘a worker or retailer of hides or pelts’
  7. EnglishtodayskinnerWiktionary, English skinner

Formed from skin + -er

Proto-Indo-European *sken- ‘to split off’

Proto-Germanic *skinþą ‘animal hide’

Old Norse skinn ‘animal hide’

Old English scinn ‘a skin’

Middle English skyn ‘a hide’

English skin

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kenH-

Today it means

noun Someone who skins animals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “skinner”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *skinþą, Middle English skyn, Middle English skynner. 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)kenH- / skinner

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