ship

ship · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*sek-?
2. Proto-Indo-European*skey-der.?
3. Proto-Germanic*skipą
4. Proto-West Germanic*skip
5. Old Englishscip
6. Middle Englishschip
7. English todayship

From Middle English chip, schepe, schip, schup, scip, scippe, ship, shup, ssip, from Old English sċip, sċyp, from Proto-West Germanic *skip, from Proto-Germanic *skipą (“ship; tub, vessel”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to split”). More at shift. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian schap, skap, Skep (“ship”), Saterland Frisian Schip, Skip (“ship”), West Frisian skip (“ship”), Central Franconian Scheff (“ship”), Dutch schip (“ship”), German Schiff (“ship”), Low German Schipp (“ship”), Luxembourgish Schëff (“ship”), Vilamovian śejf, siejft (“ship”), Yiddish שיף (shif, “ship”), Danish skib (“ship”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skip (“ship”), Swedish skepp (“ship”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐍀 (skip, “ship”). Compare typologically boat, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd-.

ship · verb²

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*skipą“ship”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skipōną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*skipōn
4. Old English · inherited fromsċipian
5. Middle English · inherited fromschippen
6. English todayship

From Middle English schippen, schipen, from Old English sċipian, from Proto-West Germanic *skipōn, from Proto-Germanic *skipōną, from Proto-Germanic *skipą (“ship”). Doublet of equip.

ship · noun, verb³

1. Englishrelation
2. Proto-Germanic*skapjaną
3. Englishrelationshipclip.
4. English todayship

Clipping of relationship.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 15th century A dish or utensil (originally fashioned like the hull of a ship) used to hold incense.