shift English · revision 4470

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *skiftaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɪft/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|shiften]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|sċiftan|t=to arrange, divide, apportion]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*skiftaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Old Norse skipta “to divide, change”, Old Frisian skifta “to decide” and German schichten “to arrange in layers”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It is said to be related to Old English scēadan “to divide”, the source of [[shed]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart traces it to [[ine-pro|*skēi-|alt=*skēi-b-]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To arrange, appoint, put in order, and to apportion or divide: about 1000 in the OED, both senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the mid-13th century the verb had come to mean “to change, alter” and “to replace with another”, first of clothing,^(Etymonline) and by about 1300 “to move, transfer” from one place to another.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) To manage or make shift for oneself is from the 1510s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun began as “a movement, a beginning” about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) then “an attempt, an expedient” (mid-15th century), hence a device or trick (1520s) and ''makeshift'';^(Etymonline) a change of position or character is from the 1560s.^(Etymonline) A woman's chemise (1590s) was probably named from the noun's use for a change of clothes.^(Etymonline) A relay of workers, and their period of work, is from 1809, originally in mines, perhaps after an older sense “relay of horses” (1708).^(Etymonline) The gear shift is from 1914 (verb 1910),^(Etymonline) the typewriter ''shift key'' by 1893.^(Etymonline) ''Shifty'' first meant resourceful (1570), and dishonest from 1837, in Carlyle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – to arrange, divide.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-13th century – to change, alter.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – to move from one place to another; noun, a movement.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1510s – to shift for oneself.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – noun, a change.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – a chemise.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1809 – a period of work.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1893 – ''shift key''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1914 – a gear shift.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move from one place or position to another.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To change or exchange for another of the same kind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To change [[gear]]s in a vehicle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''shift for oneself'': to manage alone.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A change of place, position or direction: ''a shift in public opinion''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A group of workers who work in turns with others, or the period they work.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A means or [[expedient]], sometimes a trick.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A loose, straight dress, or formerly a woman's [[chemise]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[key]] or mechanism for changing to capital letters or other characters on a keyboard.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shifter]]

+ * [[shiftable]]

+ * [[shiftingly]]

+ * [[shiftingness]]

+ * [[frameshift]]

+ * [[loanshift]]

+ * [[makeshift]]

+ * [[blueshift]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shed]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}