Etymologically
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shoot

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃuːt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sheten,[2][3] inherited from Old English scēotan (“to dart forth, go swiftly; to discharge a missile”),[2][4][5] a strong verb, from Proto-Germanic *skeutaną,[2][4] which is also the source of Old Saxon skiotan, Old Frisian skiāta, Dutch schieten, Old High German skiozzan (German schießen) and Old Norse skjóta.[2][4] It is often traced to a root *skeud- “to shoot, chase, throw”,[2] with Barnhart citing Lithuanian skudrùs “quick, nimble” and Russian kidát' “to throw”,[4] but Boutkan gives it no Indo-European etymology.[2] It is related to sheet, shot and shut.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To move swiftly, go suddenly: before 1000 in the OED, of an inanimate thing;[8] Barnhart dates the Old English verb to before 899, in Alfred's translation of Orosius.[4] Discharging a missile and sending an arrow from a bow were Old English senses too.[2]

Semantic evolution

Of a meteor darting across the sky it is from about 1290,[8] hence the shooting star.[8] Of plants, “to come forth”, is from the late 15th century, which gave the noun “young branch” in the mid-15th century;[2] “to grow quickly”, often with up, is from the 1530s.[2] To descend a river quickly is from the 1610s,[2] and of light, to be emitted in rays, from 1693.[8] The sports sense, to kick or throw towards the goal, is from 1874,[2] and the shooting of a film from 1929 for the noun.[8] The noun as an act of shooting is from the 1530s, and a shooting party from 1852.[2][8] “To strive for” is American from 1967.[2] The interjection shoot!, from 1876, is a euphemism for shit.[3]

Timeline

  • before 899 – Old English scēotan.[4]
  • c. 1290 – of a meteor.[8]
  • mid-15th century – noun, a young branch.[2]
  • 1530s – to grow quickly; an act of shooting.[2]
  • 1610s – to descend rapids.[2]
  • 1852 – a shooting party.[2]
  • 1874 – to shoot at goal.[2]
  • 1876 – shoot!.[3]
  • 1929 – a film shoot.[8]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To hit, wound or kill with a bullet or other missile.
  2. To fire a weapon, or let fly an arrow or bullet.
  3. To move swiftly; to dart.
  4. To photograph or film.
  5. To send a ball or puck towards the goal.
  6. Of a plant, to put forth buds or grow quickly.
  7. Of a pain, to pass suddenly through the body.

Noun

  1. A young branch or other new growth of a plant.
  2. A shooting party or expedition.
  3. A session of photographing or filming.

Interjection

  1. Expressing annoyance or surprise.

Word family

  • shooter
  • offshoot
  • overshoot
  • reshoot
  • turkey shoot
  • bamboo shoot

Usage notes

In some senses the noun has been influenced by or confused with chute, as of a channel or conduit for water or coal.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press