shallow English · revision 10389

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=before 1387|origins=ang sceald}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈʃæləʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈʃæloʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English schalowe, of obscure origin,^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) probably related to the synonymous Middle English schald, [[inh|ang|sceald|t=shallow]] (see [[shoal]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) perhaps an abbreviated form of *scealdig.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster compares Greek skellein, to dry up.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Not deep: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1400 in Etymonline, which also gives a sense thin, emaciated, of the body;^(Etymonline) earlier shellowe, thin (1373).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of thought or feeling, superficial, it is by the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The noun, usually ''shallows'', a place where water is not deep, is from the 1570s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to make shallow, is from 1510,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and to become shallow from the late 18th century.^(SOED 2002) Of soil forming a thin layer over rock it is from 1733,^(OED 1989) of breathing from 1875,^(Etymonline) and the ''shallow end'' of a swimming pool from 1924.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – shellowe, thin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1387 – not deep.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1510 – to make shallow (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570s – shallows (noun).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – superficial.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1875 – of breathing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having little depth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Lacking depth of mind or feeling; [[superficial]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of breathing, weak, with little air drawn in.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often shallows)'' A shallow part of a body of water; a [[shoal]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become shallow.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shallowly]]

+ * [[shallowness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shoal]]

+ * [[shelf]]

+ * [[skeleton]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Shallow is also an old name for the rudd, a freshwater fish, recorded from about 1050 and in East Anglian dialect.^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898) In Lancashire dialect shallow meant foolish, and in London a costermonger's basket.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}