Etymology

seashell

S1E1A1S1H4E1L1L1

Today it means: The empty shell of a marine mollusk. Full definition →

English shell ← Middle English schelle ← Old English sċiell
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*seykʷ-
  2. Proto-Germanic*sīhwaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*saiwiz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*saiwi
  5. Old Englishsǣ
  6. Middle Englishsee
  7. Englishsea
  8. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*skol-yeh₂
  10. Proto-Germanic*skaljō
  11. Proto-West Germanic*skallju
  12. Old Englishsċiell
  13. Middle Englishschelle
  14. Englishshell
  15. English todayseashell

From sea + shell.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.