sceada

Old English

Etymology

Origin obscure. Possibly from an earlier *scēadel, from Proto-West Germanic *skaidilu (“part in the hair, crown, summit”) ; if so, then cognate with Old Dutch skēthila, Old High German sceitila, skeitila. Otherwise, equivalent to sċēadan +‎ -a. In any case, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, part, separate, divide”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃæ͜ɑː.dɑ/

Noun

sċēada m

1. a parting of the hair
2. the top of the head

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	sċēada	sċēadan
accusative	sċēadan	sċēadan
genitive	sċēadan	sċēadena
dative	sċēadan	sċēadum

Related terms

• sċēadan

Descendants

• Middle English: sched, schode, schede (conflated with ġesċēad)
  • English: shed (dialectal shode)
  • Scots: shed