scealc

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *skalk, from Proto-Germanic *skalkaz. Cognate with Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌻𐌺𐍃 (skalks, “slave, servant”) and Old High German skalk (“serf”).

Noun

sċealc m

servant
man, soldier, sailor

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	sċealc	sċealcas
accusative	sċealc	sċealcas
genitive	sċealces	sċealca
dative	sċealce	sċealcum

Derived terms

ambehtsċealc (“official servant”)
bēorsċealc (“beer-servant, butler”)
freoþosċealc (“minister of peace”)
hellesċealc (“servant of hell”)

Descendants

Middle English: schalk, scalk, schalke, schalkke, shalk
- English: shalk
- Middle Scots: schalk, schak, schaik

References

Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “sċealc”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.