The origin of words: SHALLOW

Shallow dates back to the late 14th century. The Middle English adjective schalowe(pronounced just like we say shallow today), came from the Old English adjective schealde, an adjective meaning shallow that was formed from the noun sceald (‘a place of shallow waters,’ pronounced shoald). It can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic root skala-, but its origin before then is unknown. It is related to the Swedish skäll (thin), the Low German schol (shallow) and the Frisian skol (not deep), as well as the English shoal, a noun meaning ‘a place of shallow waters’ that is the direct descendant of sceald. The figurative sense used to describe a thought, feeling, subject or person, dates back to the late 16th century, while doctors only started using it to describe breathing in the late 18th century. The noun dates back to the mid-16th century, and comes from the adjective.