A Shop Was a Shed Before It Was a Store
A shop sells goods. The word first meant a lean-to booth, and the workshop sense survives.
A shop is a place where goods are sold, and also a workshop. The workshop sense is older: Old English *sceoppa* meant a booth or shed, and a craftsman's shop was where things were made rather than sold. The two functions were the same building for most of history, which is why *bookshop* and *machine shop* use one word for opposite activities. The verb *to shop* meaning to inform on someone is British slang from the sense of shutting someone in a place.
- A retail place. *A corner shop.*
- A workshop. *A machine shop.*
- To buy. *Shopping for shoes.*
- To inform on (British). *He shopped them.*
- Old English — *sceoppa*, a booth. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shop | A shop. |
| Verb | shop | Shopping. |
| Agent | shopper | A shopper. |
| Compound | workshop | A workshop. |
| Old English | sceoppa | A booth. |
- The shop closed early.Retail.
- He works in the machine shop.Workshop.
- Talking shop.Idiom.
Shop phrases
- Talk shop — discuss work socially
- Set up shop — start a business
- All over the shop — disorganised
- Shop floor — where production happens
- Closed shop — a workplace requiring union membership
Old English *sceoppa*, a booth or shed, reinforced by Old French *eschoppe*, a stall.
Which came first, the shop or the workshop?
The workshop. The word meant a booth or shed where things were made before it meant a place where they are sold.
What does talking shop mean?
Discussing work matters in a social setting, using shop in the sense of one's trade.