Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of shed

shed(n.1)

"building for storage," 1855, earlier "light, temporary shelter" (late 15c., Caxton, shadde), possibly a dialectal variant of a specialized use of shade (n.). Originally of the barest sort of shelter. Or from or influenced in sense development by Middle English shudde (shud) "a shed, hut," which survives, if at all, in dialect, from Old English OE scydd.

also from 1855

shed(v.)

"cast off," Middle English sheden, from Old English sceadan, scadan "to divide, separate, part company; discriminate, decide; scatter abroad, cast about," strong verb (past tense scead, past participle sceadan), from Proto-Germanic *skaithan (source also of Old Saxon skethan, Old Frisian sketha, Middle Dutch sceiden, Dutch scheiden, Old High German sceidan, German scheiden "part, separate, distinguish," Gothic skaidan "separate"), from an extended form of PIE root *skei- "to cut, split."

Of tears, from late 12c.; of light, from c. 1200. In reference to animals, "to lose hair, feathers, etc., by natural process," it is recorded from c. 1500; of trees losing leaves from 1590s; of persons and their clothes, ca. 1780.

This verb in Old English was used to gloss Late Latin words in the sense "to discriminate, to decide" that literally mean "to divide, separate" (compare discern). Hence also Old English scead (n.) "separation, distinction; discretion, understanding, reason;" sceadwisnes "discrimination, discretion" (see shed (n.2)). Related: Shedding. To shed blood "kill by shedding blood" is from c. 1300 A shedding-tooth (1799) was a milk-tooth or baby-tooth.

shed(n.2)

c. 1300, shede, "the parting of the hair made by combing," from Old English scead, sceada "separation of one thing from another," from the source of shed (v.). As "ridge of high ground dividing two valleys," 1876, probably shortened from watershed (q.v.).

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to shed

discern(v.)

"perceive or recognize the difference or distinction between (two or more things);" also "distinguish (an object) with the eyes, see distinctly, behold;" also "perceive rationally, understand;" late 14c., from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly from Latin discernere "to separate, set apart, divide, distribute; distinguish, perceive," from dis- "off, away" (see dis-) + cernere "distinguish, separate, sift" (from PIE root *krei- "to sieve," thus "discriminate, distinguish"). Related: Discerned; discerning.

shade(n.)

Middle English shade, schade, Kentish ssed, "dark image cast by someone or something; comparative obscurity or gloom caused by the blockage of light," from late Old English scead "partial darkness; shelter, protection," also partly from sceadu "shade, shadow, darkness; shady place, arbor, protection from glare or heat." Both are from Proto-Germanic *skadwaz (source also of Old Saxon skado, Middle Dutch scade, Dutch schaduw, Old High German scato, German Schatten, Gothic skadus), from PIE *skot-wo-, from root *skoto- "dark, shade."

shade, shadow, nn. It seems that the difference in form is fairly to be called an accidental one, the first representing the nominative & the second the oblique cases of the same word. The meanings are as closely parallel or intertwined as might be expected from this original identity, the wonder being that, with a differentiation so vague, each form should have maintained its existence by the side of the other. [Fowler]

The figurative use in reference to comparative obscurity is from 1640s. Hence throw into the shade, etc., "obscure by contrast or superior brilliancy." The meaning "a ghost" is from 1610s; dramatic (or mock-dramatic) expression shades of _____ to invoke or acknowledge a memory is from 1818, from the "ghost" sense.

The meaning "lamp cover" is from 1780. The sense of "window blind. contrivance for shutting out light at a window" is recorded by 1845. The meaning "cover to protect the eyes" is from 1801.

The meaning "grade of color" is recorded from 1680s; that of "degree or gradation of darkness in a color" is from 1680s (compare nuance, from French nue "cloud"). The meaning "small amount or degree" of anything is from 1749.

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trends of shed

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

watershed

"line separating waters flowing into different rivers," 1803, from water (n.1) + shed in a topographical sense of "ridge of high ground between two valleys or lower ground, a divide," for which see shed (n.2). Perhaps a loan-translation of German Wasser-scheide. Figurative sense

schedule

late 14c., sedule, cedule "ticket, label, slip of paper with writing on it" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French cedule (Modern French cédule), from Late Latin schedula "strip of paper" (in Medieval Latin also "a note, schedule"), diminutive of Latin scheda, scida "one of the

shift

Middle English shiften, from Old English sciftan, scyftan "arrange, place, put in order" (a sense now obsolete), also "divide, separate, partition; distribute, allot, share" (now obsolete or provincial), from Proto-Germanic *skiftan (source also of Old Norse skipta "to divide, ch

hangar

1852, "shed for carriages," from French hangar "shed," which is of uncertain origin....Or French hanghart might be from Medieval Latin angarium "shed in which horses are shod" [Gamillscheg, Klein]....Sense of "covered shed for airplanes" first recorded in English 1902, from French use in that sense....

tavern

"shed made of boards, booth, stall," also "tavern, inn," from Latin taberna "shop, inn, tavern," originally "hut, shed, rude...If so, the original meaning probably was "wooden shed."...

molt

also moult, c. 1400, mouten, of feathers, hair, etc., "to be shed, fall out," from Old English *mutian "to change" (in bemutian...Transitive sense, "to shed or cast (feathers, fur, skin)" is by mid-15c....

shop

c. 1300, "booth or shed for trade or work," perhaps from Old English scoppa, a rare word of uncertain meaning, apparently...additional structure" (source also of Old High German scopf "building without walls, porch," German dialectal Scopf "porch, cart-shed..., barn," German Schuppen "a shed"), from a root *skupp-....

cast

c. 1200, "throw, throw violently, fling, hurl," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kasta "to throw" (cognate with Swedish kasta, Danish kaste, North Frisian kastin), a word of uncertain origin. The meaning "to form in a mold" is late 15c. In the sense of "to throw" it r

prod

1530s, "to poke with a stick," of uncertain origin; possibly [Barnhart, Century Dictionary] a variant of brod, from Middle English brodden "to goad," from Old Norse broddr "shaft, spike" (see brad), or perhaps imitative [OED]. Compare dialectal prog "pointed instrument for poking

drop

Middle English drope, from Old English dropa "a small, spherical mass of liquid," from Proto-Germanic *drupon (source also of Old Saxon dropo, Old Norse dropi, Dutch drop, Old High German tropfo, German Tropfen (n.)); see drop (v.). Sense of "minute quantity of anything, least po

Share shed

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trending

Dictionary entries near shed

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

shade, shadow, nn. It seems that the difference in form is fairly to be called an accidental one, the first representing the nominative & the second the oblique cases of the same word. The meanings are as closely parallel or intertwined as might be expected from this original identity, the wonder being that, with a differentiation so vague, each form should have maintained its existence by the side of the other. [Fowler]

The meaning "lamp cover" is from 1780. The sense of "window blind. contrivance for shutting out light at a window" is recorded by 1845. The meaning "cover to protect the eyes" is from 1801.