The story
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skeuhaz“shy, fearful”
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*skeuh“shy, fearful”
- Old English · inherited fromsċēoh“shy”
- Middle English · inherited fromshy“shy”
- English todayshy
From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).
Words from the same roots
Proto-Germanic*skeuhaz all →
skivesewel
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.