Etymology

skill

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Today it means: A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. Full definition →

First used 1980s–1990sMiddle English skill ← Old Norse ski ← Proto-Germanic *skilją
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skill · noun, adjective1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH-
  2. Proto-Germanic*skilją
  3. Old Norseski
  4. Middle Englishskill
  5. English todayskill

From Middle English skill, skille (also schil, schile), from Old Norse skil (“a distinction, discernment, knowledge”), from Proto-Germanic *skilją (“separation, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skel (“a separation, boundary, divide”), Swedish skäl (“reason”), Dutch verschil (“difference”) and schillen (“to separate the outer layer (schil) from the product”, verb).

skill · verb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)kelH-“to split, cut”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skilōną
  3. Old Norse · derived fromskilja“to divide, separate”
  4. Old English · inherited fromscilian“to separate, part, divide off”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromskilen
  6. English todayskill

From Middle English skilen (also schillen), partly from Old English scilian (“to separate, part, divide off”); and partly from Old Norse skilja (“to divide, separate”); both from Proto-Germanic *skilōną, *skiljaną (“to divide, limit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cut”). Cognate with Danish skille (“to separate, discard”), Swedish skilja (“to distinguish, differentiate, part”), Icelandic skilja (“to understand”), Low German schelen (“to make a difference; to be squint-eyed”), Dutch schelen (“to make a difference”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH- all →

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First known use, by meaning

  • 1980s–1990s Great, excellent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.