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Where does the word "skull" come from? It comes from Old Norse skalli, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
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Where does the word "skull" come from? It comes from Old Norse skalli, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
Skull’s story begins in Old Norse: skalli meant “a bowl-shaped covering.” Possibly related to a word for a bowl or shell, describing the head's bony covering. It reached English by 1200s as skull. Settled as the standard English word for the bony head structure. Today, skull means the bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval skalli "a bowl-shaped covering", possibly related to a word for a bowl or shell, describing the head's bony covering.
- Stage 2 · English · 1200s skull "the bony structure of the head", settled as the standard English word for the bony head structure.