Etymologically
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skull

Etymology and origin of the English word skull

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1200
Borrowed from
Old Norse skalli
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (skalli)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈskʌl/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sculle, scolle,[2][3][4] of uncertain origin,[2][3] probably borrowed from Old Norse skalli (“a bald head, skull”), a general Scandinavian word (compare Swedish skalle),[5][2][6][7] probably related to Old English scealu, husk (see shell).[5][2][6] Its early prominence in southwestern texts suggests instead a Dutch or Low German cognate,[5] and derivation from Old French escuelle, bowl, seems unlikely.[5] NODE compares Old Norse skoltr.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The bony case of the brain: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle;[2] about 1290 in the OED.[8]

Semantic evolution

An Old English word for it was hēafodbolla, and Latin cranium was glossed in Middle English as braynpanne.[5] The crown of the head, the scalp, is an obsolete sense of about 1380.[8] The head as the seat of thought is from 1523.[8] In Oxford slang the head of a college or hall was a skull from 1721.[8] A representation of a skull as an emblem of death is from 1826.[8] Skullcap is from 1682.[2] Out of one's skull, crazy or intoxicated, is slang from 1967.[8][7]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – sculle.[2]
  • 1523 – the head as the mind.[8]
  • 1682 – skullcap.[2]
  • 1826 – an emblem of death.[8]
  • 1967 – out of one's skull.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain; the cranium.
  2. (informal) The head as the seat of thought.
  3. A picture of a skull as a symbol of death or danger; a death's-head.

Word family

  • skulled
  • skull-less
  • skull-like
  • skullcap
  • numskull
  • numbskull
  • skull session
  • skull and crossbones

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • cake · also from Old Norse
  • rid · also from Old Norse
  • lift · also from Old Norse
  • gap · also from Old Norse
  • bound · also from Old Norse
  • loose · also from Old Norse
  • gear · also from Old Norse
  • egg · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Skull.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/skull. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·