shop
/ʃɒp/
noun
Origin
Old English
sceoppa — Booth or shed
Overview
Meaning Now
- A place where goods or services are sold to customers.
- A room or building where goods are made or repaired; a workshop.
Literal older meaning
Booth or shed
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
sceoppa
Earliest period
Old English period
Journey
The word originally referred to a booth or shed and came to denote a place where goods were sold or work was carried out. Its deeper etymology is not settled; proposed connections with other Germanic words should be treated cautiously.
Evolution
- Old English period
sceoppa
“Booth or shed”
An early form recorded in Old English; its more distant origin is unclear.
- Middle English period
shoppe
“A booth, stall, or place where goods are sold”
The spelling developed toward the modern form.
- Modern English
shop
“A retail business or its premises; also, a workshop”
The word remains especially common in British English for a retail store.
Connections
Word parts
shop
root
A place for selling, making, or repairing things
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Related to shop
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.