shed English · revision 6517

+ English has two words spelled shed: the verb to cast off, and the small building.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɛd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|cast off}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English|origins=gem-pro *skaiþaną}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is Middle English sheden, [[inh|ang|scēadan|t=to divide, separate; to scatter]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*skaiþaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[osx|skēthan]], [[nl|scheiden]], [[de|scheiden|t=to separate]] and [[got|𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽|tr=skaidan]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*skey-|alt=*skei-|t=to cut, split]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To divide or separate, and to discriminate or decide: Old English.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To pour out or let fall, as tears, is from the late 12th century, and to give forth light from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) ''To shed blood'' is from about 1300.^(Etymonline) Of animals losing hair or feathers it is from about 1500, of trees losing leaves from the 1590s, and of people taking off clothes from about 1780.^(Etymonline) To get rid of something unwanted, as in ''shed jobs'', is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The Old English noun scead, separation, survives in the parting of the hair (about 1300) and in [[watershed]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – to divide.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 12th century – to shed tears.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – to shed blood.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – of animals, to moult.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – of trees, to drop leaves.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To let fall or cast off naturally, as leaves, hair or skin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To get rid of something unwanted: ''shed weight''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give off or send out: ''shed light''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pour out, as in ''shed tears'' or ''shed blood''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[watershed]]

+ * [[bloodshed]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|small building}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=1481}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The building is possibly a variant of [[shade]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) or influenced by Middle English shudde, a hut, from Old English scydd.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A light temporary shelter: 1481, as shadde, in Caxton's translation of ''Reynard the Fox''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was at first the barest kind of shelter;^(Etymonline) a building for storage is by 1855.^(Etymonline) A large roofed structure with open sides, as for animals or vehicles, is also a shed.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1481 – shadde, a shelter.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1855 – a storage building.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A simple single-storey building used for storage or as a [[workshop]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large open-sided structure, as for vehicles or animals.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shade]]

+ * [[schism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}