Wordwyrt

shaft

/ˈʃæft/SHAFT
/ˈʃæft/SHAFT

Meaninga spear-shaft, a pole

Common meaning: a long pole or handle

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√SKAP‘dig, scrape, shave, shape’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 403, p. 744 · scan
  2. Old Englishsceaft‘icel. skaft the shaft, spjot the point)’sourceB&T
  3. Middle Englishshaftsource
  4. Englishshaft‘a long pole or handle’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English sceaft ‘a spear-shaft, a pole’.

Roots

  • sceaft Old English “a spear-shaft, a pole”

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