skin
The outer covering of the body; the hide or pelt of an animal.
Etymology
Modern English skin comes from Old Norse skinn "animal hide," borrowed during the Viking Age, from Proto-Germanic *skinþą, from PIE *skey- meaning "to cut, to split, to separate." The root idea is of something cut off or peeled away from the body. The native Old English word was hȳd (modern hide), which was partially displaced by the Norse borrowing. The same PIE root *skey- produced Latin scindere "to cut, to split" (giving English scissors, schism, rescind, and science — originally "cutting apart" to examine), Greek skhízein "to split" (giving English schizophrenia — "split mind"), and Sanskrit chinátti "to cut." Within English, shin may be related (the sharp-edged bone that "cuts" forward), and the word shingle (thin split wood) connects through the same cutting imagery. The fact that our word for the body's covering means "something cut off" reveals an age of animal skinning.
The Journey: *skey- → skin
*skey-
*skinþą
skinn
skin
skin
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *skey-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | scindere | to cut, split |
| Greek | skhízein | to split |
| Sanskrit | chinátti | cuts |
| Old Norse | skinn | skin, hide |
| German | schinden | to flay |
Did You Know?
English skin, scissors, schism, science, and schizophrenia all come from the same PIE root *skey- "to cut." Science literally means "cutting apart" to examine, while schizophrenia means "split mind." The word skin itself means "something cut off" — preserving the ancient act of flaying hides for leather.