Etymology

shelfmark

S1H4E1L1F4M3A1R1K5

Today it means: The mark that shows the location or call number of a book or manuscript within a library; (loosely) synonym of call number. Full definition →

English mark ← Middle English schelfe ← Old English sċylfe?
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kel(H)-p-
  3. Proto-Germanic*skelfō
  4. Proto-West Germanic*skelfu:
  5. Proto-West Germanic*skilfijā
  6. Old Englishsċylfe?
  7. Middle Englishschelfe
  8. Englishshelf
  9. Englishmark
  10. English todayshelfmark

From shelf + mark.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.