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Re: Origin of the word 'shit'

Posted by R. Berg on July 30, 2003

In Reply to: Re: Origin of the word 'shit' posted by GPP on July 30, 2003

: : : : : Hi. Im interested in expressions we use today that have their roots from centuries ago, but where the original meaning has been lost through time. I heard this little gem, & was wondering if anyone can verify if this is true or not.

: : : : : In the days when sailing ships were opening up world trade routes, when commodities such as spices were worth as much as gold, (18th Century??) some ships would carry fertilizer. These ships would periodically explode & be lost at sea, & no one knew why. Once they realised the cause was due to a build up of methane gas in the hold (& probably some sailor with a lantern) they would stamp on the words "Ship High In Transit", so the ferilizer would be lashed to the decks & exposed to the fresh air, avoiding any methane build-up. These words became common in use, and were eventually abrreviated to S.H.I.T., hence the word we use today.

: : : : : This does sounds plausible, but I would be interested in other peoples views on this.

: : : : : Thanks

: : : : : Doug. F.

: : : : I'm more inclined to the Oxford definition - Shit:-ORIGIN Old English scitte 'diarrhoea', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schijten, German scheissen (verb). The term was originally neutral and used without vulgar connotation

: : : Partridge 'Origins' 2nd , pp 616-7 [the '*' here denotes the letter 'i' topped by a horizontal line rather than a dot--I don't know what that's called]: shit; shite. See SHOOT, para 6.
: : : shoot (verb, hence noun), whence 'shooter' and participial adjective, verbal noun 'shooting'; past tense and past participle 'shot'; 'shot', noun--compare 'scot', a contribution, whence 'scot-free'; 'shotten'; --'sheet', covering, nautical rope, whence the corresponding verbs; 'shit' (variant 'shite'), verb hence noun--compare 'shitehawk', 'shitepoke'--compare also 'shice', 'shicer', probably 'shyster'; 'shut', whence 'shutter'; 'shuttle', noun whence adjective and verb, 'shuttlecock' ('shuttle', noun + 'cock' bird, from its crest); --'skeet'; 'skit', noun (whence 'skittish') and verb--compare 'skite' (noun and verb), 'blatherskite'; 'skitter' and 'skittle', usually in plural, noun, whence verb; --'scoot', noun and verb (whence 'scooter')--compare 'scoter'--compare also 'scout', to scoff at, with participial adjective, verbal noun 'scouting'; perhaps 'shout', verb, hence noun.
: : : 6. Very closely akin to Old High German 'sci*zan' are the synonyms Old Norse 'skita' and Old English 'sci*tan', whence Middle English 'schi*ten' (compare the identical Middle Low German form), later 'schite', 'schyte', 'shyte', whence the English 'to shit' and its variant 'to shite'. The English noun 'shit', variant ' shite', is, in Middle English, 'schi*te', as also in Middle Low German, the Middle High German form being 'schi*ze'. Like the simples, the following compounds are no longer in polite use: 'shitehawk' and 'shitepoke', birds, and 'shithouse'.

: : Note that Partridge expands upon the OED explanation rather than contradicting it; the sailing ship explanation is folk etymology.

: The concept these words seem to have in common is to expel, let go, let fly, put away from, etc.

Yes: see the archive entry below.