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

Declension of sceada (weak)

Case	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