shorten

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skurtōną“to shorten”
2. Old English · inherited fromsċortian“to become short”
3. Middle English · inherited fromschorten“to make short, shorten”
4. Middle English · inherited fromshortnen
5. English todayshorten

From Middle English shortnen, schortenen, equivalent to short + -en (verbal suffix). In some senses, a continuation (in altered form) of Middle English schorten (“to make short, shorten”), from Old English sċortian (“to become short”), from Proto-Germanic *skurtōną (“to shorten”).