Indo-European Lexicon
PIE Etymon and IE Reflexes
Below we display: a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymon adapted from Pokorny, with our own English gloss; our Semantic Field assignment(s) for the etymon, linked to information about the field(s); an optional Comment; and Reflexes (derived words) in various Indo-European languages, organized by family/group in west-to-east order where Germanic is split into West/North/East families and English, our language of primary emphasis, is artificially separated from West Germanic. IE Reflexes appear most often as single words with any optional letter(s) enclosed in parentheses; but alternative full spellings are separated by '/' and "principal parts" appear in a standard order (e.g. masculine, feminine, and neuter forms) separated by commas.
Reflexes are annotated with: Part-of-Speech and/or other Grammatical feature(s); a short Gloss which, especially for modern English reflexes, may be confined to the oldest sense; and some Source citation(s) with 'LRC' always understood as editor. Keys to PoS/Gram feature abbreviations and Source codes appear below the reflexes; at the end are links to the previous/next etyma [in Pokorny's alphabetic order] that have reflexes.
All reflex pages are currently under active construction; as time goes on, corrections may be made and/or more etyma & reflexes may be added.
Pokorny Etymon: 1. (s)kel- 'to cut, halve'
Semantic Field(s): to Cut
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | ||||
| Middle Irish: | sce(i)llec | n | rock | GED |
| scoilt | vb | to split | GED | |
| Welsh: | caill | n | testicle | GED |
| hollt | vb | to split | GED | |
| English | ||||
| Old English: | culter, cultur | n.masc | coulter, dagger | ASD/W7 |
| hælftre | n.fem | halter | GED | |
| healf | n.fem | half, side, part | GED | |
| helma | n.masc | helm, rudder | W7 | |
| hielfe | n | helve | W7 | |
| scealla | n | testicle | GED | |
| scealu | n.fem | shell, hull, husk | GED | |
| sceld, scild, scield, scyld | n.masc | shield | ASD/GED | |
| scielfe | n.wk.fem | shelf | GED | |
| sciell | n.fem | shell, mussel | GED | |
| scilfe, scylfe | n.fem | shelf, ledge | W7 | |
| scolu, scōl | n.fem | shoal, school, multitude | ASD/W7 | |
| scylian | vb | to separate | W7 | |
| scyll | n.fem | shell, mussel | GED | |
| slīfan | vb.str | to slive, splice | ASD/IEW | |
| slītan, slāt, sliton, sliten | vb.str.I | to slit, tear | LRC | |
| Middle English: | colter, culter | n | coulter | AHD/W7 |
| half | n | half | W7 | |
| halter | n | halter | W7 | |
| halven | vb | to halve | W7 | |
| helme | n | helm | W7 | |
| helve | n | haft, handle of tool/weapon | W7 | |
| scale | n | scale | W7 | |
| scall | n | scall | W7 | |
| scalp | n | scalp | W7 | |
| schulle | n | flatfish, flounder | MED | |
| scole | n | school | W7 | |
| sculpture | n | sculpture | W7 | |
| shale | n | shale | W7 | |
| sheld | n | shield | W7 | |
| sheldrake | n | sheldrake | W7 | |
| shelf | n | shelf | W7 | |
| shell | n | shell | W7 | |
| *shole | n | shoal, multitude | W7 | |
| skil | n | skill | W7 | |
| slippe | n | slip | W7 | |
| slitten | vb | to slit | W7 | |
| sliven | vb | to slive, slice off | W7 | |
| slivere | n | sliver | W7 | |
| English: | co(u)lter | n | turf cutter on plow | AHD/W7 |
| cultrate | adj | knife-shaped, having sharp edge/point | AHD/W7 | |
| cutlass | n | short curving sword once used by sailors | AHD/W7 | |
| half | n | either of 2 equal parts resulting from division | AHD/W7 | |
| Halfelven | prop.n | Elrond surname in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| Halfling | prop.n | hobbit epithet in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| Halfred | prop.n | hobbit name in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| halter | n | rope/strap for tying/leading animal | AHD/W7 | |
| halve | vb.trans | to divide in 2 equal parts | AHD/W7 | |
| helm | n | wheel/lever controlling ship's rudder | AHD/W7 | |
| helve | n | haft, handle of tool/weapon | AHD/W7 | |
| Oakenshield | prop.n | epithet for Thorin in Tolkien: The Hobbit | LRC | |
| scagliola | n | imitation marble made from finely ground gypsum/glue | AHD/W7 | |
| scale | n | thin flat rigid plate, part of body covering (esp. of fish/reptile) | AHD/W7 | |
| scale | n | balance (pan/tray) used for weighing | AHD/W7 | |
| scalene | adj | having unequal sides | AHD/W7 | |
| scall | n | scurf/scabby scalp disorder | AHD/W7 | |
| scalp | n | part of head usu. covered by hair | AHD/W7 | |
| scalpel | n | small thin-bladed knife used for surgery | AHD/W7 | |
| school | n | shoal, many fish/aquatic animals of same kind swimming together | AHD/W7 | |
| sculpture | n | act/process of carving/cutting hard material into artwork | AHD/W7 | |
| shale | n | fissile rock formed by compaction of clay/mud/silt | AHD/W7 | |
| sheldrake | n | Old World duck | AHD/W7 | |
| shelf | n | flat usu. long/narrow space for holding objects | AHD/W7 | |
| shell | n | rigid carapace of mollusk/turtle/etc. | AHD/W7 | |
| shelter | n | cover, defense, protection | AHD | |
| shelve | vb | to slope, incline, be steep/precipitous | IEW/W7 | |
| shield | n | broad rigid armor piece carried via hand/arm | AHD/W7 | |
| shoal | n | crowd, school, large group (e.g. of fish) | AHD/W7 | |
| skill | n | cause, reason; intellectual faculty | AHD/W7 | |
| skoal | n | health, toast | AHD/W7 | |
| slip | n | scion, small plant cutting | W7 | |
| slit, slit | vb.str | to cut, slash, sever | W7 | |
| slive | vb | to sliver | IEW | |
| sliver | n | splinter, long slender piece cut/torn off | W7 | |
| sliver | vb | to splinter, cut/split into slivers | W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | half | adj | half | ASD |
| halve | n | side, direction | GED | |
| skall | n.masc | testicle | GED | |
| skeld | n | shield | GED | |
| slīta | vb | to slit, tear, break | ASD | |
| Middle Dutch: | schelpe | n | shell | W7 |
| schillede | adj | parti-colored | W7 | |
| schōle | n | school | AHD/W7 | |
| Dutch: | behalve | prep | except | TLL |
| schaal | n | eggshell; measurement scale | TLL | |
| schilder | n | painter | LRC | |
| schilderen | vb | to paint | LRC | |
| schilderij | n | picture | TLL | |
| schol | n | flatfish, flounder; scale: plate | TLL | |
| Old Saxon: | halƀa | n | side, direction | GED |
| half | adj | half | GED | |
| scāla | n.fem | shell | GED | |
| skala | n | drinking vessel | ASD | |
| skild | n | shield | GED | |
| skola | n | school, band, troop | ASD | |
| slītan | vb | to slit, split, tear | ASD | |
| Middle Low German: | schelle | n | shell, scale | GED |
| schōle | n | school | AHD | |
| Old High German: | halb | adj | half | GED |
| halb(a) | n.fem | side, direction | ASD/GED | |
| halftra | n | halter | W7 | |
| helmo | n | tiller | W7 | |
| scala | n.fem | shell, hull | GED | |
| scelifa | n.wk.fem | shell, peel | GED | |
| skilt | n.masc | shield | GED | |
| skolla | n | clod, piece | KDW | |
| slīzan | vb | to slit, tear apart | W7 | |
| Middle High German: | slitzen | vb | to slit | W7 |
| German: | halbe | n | half, side | ASD |
| halfter | n | halter | ASD | |
| Schale | n.fem | shell, hull | LRC | |
| Schild | n.masc | shield, buckler | LRC | |
| Schild | n.neut | sign, badge, label | LRC | |
| schildern | vb | to draw, sketch, depict, portray | LRC | |
| Schlips | n.masc | cravat, necktie | TLL | |
| Scholle | n.fem | flatfish, flounder; sod, clod; flake, scale: plate | TLL | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | Eikinskjaldi | prop.n | Voluspa dwarf, lit. Oaken-shield | TPE |
| hálfr | adj | half | LRC | |
| skalli | n | bald head | W7 | |
| skāl | n | bowl | W7 | |
| skālpr | n | sheath | W7 | |
| skel | n | shell | W7 | |
| skil | n | knowledge, distinction | W7 | |
| skiljad, skiljað | vb | to divide, separate; perceive, understand | LRC | |
| skjǫldr | n.masc | shield | LRC | |
| Old Icelandic: | halfa | n | side, direction | GED |
| halfr | adj | half | GED | |
| Hlið-skjálf | n.fem | Odin's seat | ASD | |
| skel | n | shell, mussel | GED | |
| skjǫldr | n | shield | GED | |
| Icelandic: | hālfa | n | half, side | ASD |
| hālfr | adj | half | ASD | |
| skál | n | scale, bowl (of a balance) | ASD | |
| skjöldr | n | shield | ASD | |
| slíta | vb | to slit, tear, break | ASD | |
| Danish: | skaal | n | cup | W7 |
| skæl | n | scale: plate | TLL | |
| slips | n | cravat, necktie | TLL | |
| Swedish: | skal | n | shell | TLL |
| skolla | n | flatfish, flounder; scale: plate | SAO | |
| sköld | n | shield | TLL | |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | halba | n | half, side | ASD |
| *halbs | adj | half | GED | |
| *skalja | n.fem | tile | GED | |
| *skildus | n.masc | shield | GED | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | cultellus | n.masc | knife | W7 |
| culter, cultris | n.masc | knife, plowshare, coulter | W7 | |
| cultratus | adj | knife-shaped | W7 | |
| scalpellum | n.neut | little knife | W7 | |
| scalpellus | n.masc | little knife | W7 | |
| scalper | n.masc | chisel, knife | W7 | |
| scalpō, scalpere | vb | to cut, carve | GED | |
| scalprum | n.neut | chisel, knife | W7 | |
| sculpō, sculpere | vb | to carve, sculpt | LS | |
| sculptura | n.fem | sculpture | W7 | |
| sculptus | vb.ptc | carved, sculpted | W7 | |
| silex | n.masc | flint, pebble | GED | |
| Late Latin: | scalenus | adj | uneven, having (three) unequal sides | W7 |
| Old French: | coltre | n | coulter | W7 |
| Middle French: | coutel | n.masc | knife | W7 |
| coutelas | n.masc | cutlass | W7 | |
| French: | coutre | n | coulter | ASD |
| Italian: | coltro | n | coulter | ASD |
| scagliola | n.fem | plaster of Paris | W7 | |
| Baltic | ||||
| Lithuanian: | skalà | n | wood chip | GED |
| skélti | vb | to split | GED | |
| skìltis | n | slice | GED | |
| Latvian: | škelt | vb | to split | GED |
| Slavic | ||||
| Old Church Slavonic: | skolьka | n | mussel | GED |
| Albanian | ||||
| Albanian: | hálë | n | fish scale | GED |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | κωλύω | vb | to hinder, prevent | LRC |
| skalēnos | adj | uneven | W7 | |
| σκάλλω | vb | to hoe, stir up | GED | |
| skolios | adj | crooked | W7 | |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | kalā́ | n | portion, small part | GED |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| I | = | class 1 |
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| prep | = | preposition |
| prop | = | proper |
| ptc | = | participle |
| str | = | strong (inflection) |
| trans | = | transitive |
| vb | = | verb |
| wk | = | weak (inflection) |
Key to information Source codes (always with 'LRC' as editor):
| Code | Citation | |
|---|---|---|
| AHD | = | Calvert Watkins: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed. (2000) |
| ASD | = | Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898) |
| GED | = | Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986) |
| IEW | = | Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959) |
| KDW | = | Gerhard Köbler: Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 4th ed. (1993) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| LS | = | Liddell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon, 7th-9th ed's (1882-1940), rev. |
| MED | = | Robert E. Lewis et al., eds. Middle English Dictionary (1954-1999, 2001) |
| SAO | = | Swedish Academy: Svenska Akademiens Ordbok (2011) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| TPE | = | Lee M. Hollander: The Poetic Edda (1962) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
