Shirt and Skirt Were Once the Same Garment
A shirt covers the upper body. It and skirt come from a single word that split when Norse and English forms diverged.
A shirt is a garment for the upper body, with sleeves and usually a collar. *Shirt* and *skirt* are doublets — the same ancient word arriving twice. The English form gave *shirt*, the Old Norse form *skyrta* gave *skirt*, and the original meant a short garment, from a root meaning cut short. One ended up above the waist, one below. The sk/sh pair marks many Norse borrowings: *skip* and *ship*, *scatter* and *shatter*.
- An upper-body garment. *A cotton shirt.*
- Skirt — the doublet. *A skirt.*
- Shirtsleeves — without a jacket. *In shirtsleeves.*
- Lose your shirt — to lose everything. *Lost his shirt.*
- Old English — *scyrte*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shirt | A shirt. |
| Plural | shirts | Shirts. |
| Doublet | skirt | A skirt. |
| Compound | T-shirt | A T-shirt. |
| Norse | skyrta | A shirt. |
- He wore a white cotton shirt.Clothing.
- Shirt and skirt are the same word.Etymology.
- He lost his shirt at the races.Idiom.
Norse and English doublets
- Shirt / skirt — the same short garment
- Ship / skipper — from the Norse and Dutch forms
- Shatter / scatter — the same root, two forms
- Shriek / screech — a similar split
- The sk- spelling usually marks the Norse arrival
Old English *scyrte*, a short garment, from a Germanic root meaning short; Old Norse *skyrta* gave *skirt*.
Are shirt and skirt the same word?
Yes, doublets. The English form gave shirt, the Norse form gave skirt, and both meant a short garment.
Where does lose your shirt come from?
From gambling: the shirt is the last thing left to lose, so losing it means losing everything.