*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -scape

Back-formation from landscape, the suffix representing Middle Dutch -schap (“the English suffix -ship, e.g. of friendship, kinship, ownership”), from Old Dutch -skap (“-ship”), from Proto-Germanic *-skapiz (“-ship”), fro

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

form, formation, shape · scene, picture, view · A specific type of space

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Back-formation from landscape, the suffix representing Middle Dutch -schap (“the English suffix -ship, e.g. of friendship, kinship, ownership”), from Old Dutch -skap (“-ship”), from Proto-Germanic *-skapiz (“-ship”), from *skapaz (“shape, form”). Cognate with Modern Dutch -schap (“-ship”), German -schaft (“-ship”), Swedish -skap (“-ship”), -scipe (“-ship”). More at -ship, shape.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mention-schapdum · the English suffix -ship, e.g. of friendship, kinship, ownership
  • Derivation mention-skapodt · -ship
  • Derivation mention*-skapizgem-pro · -ship
  • Cognate mention-schapnl
  • Cognate mention-schaftde
  • Cognate mention-skapsv
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bf",
        "3": "landscape",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#back-formation|Back-formation]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"landscape\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"back-formation\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-scape\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-scape\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "back-form",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "landscape"
      },
      "expansion": "Back-formation from landscape"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "-schap",
        "t": "the English suffix -ship, e.g. of friendship, kinship, ownership"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch -schap (“the English suffix -ship, e.g. of friendship, kinship, ownership”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "odt",
        "3": "-skap",
        "t": "-ship"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Dutch -skap (“-ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*-skapiz",
        "t": "-ship"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *-skapiz (“-ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-schap",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ship"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -schap (“-ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "-schaft",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ship"
      },
      "expansion": "German -schaft (“-ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "-skap",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ship"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish -skap (“-ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bf",
        "3": "landscape",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "landscape",
      "landscape#English"
    ],
    [
      "-schap",
      "-schap#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "-skap",
      "-skap#Old_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "*-skapiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-skapiz"
    ],
    [
      "*skapaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skapaz"
    ],
    [
      "-schap",
      "-schap#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "-schaft",
      "-schaft#German"
    ],
    [
      "-skap",
      "-skap#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "-scipe",
      "-scipe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ship",
      "-ship#English"
    ],
    [
      "shape",
      "shape#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "form, formation, shape",
        "scene, picture, view",
        "A specific type of space"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "4510693cda0550b4df10b618fdab049dcad9563856b7f27b97d795f651929576",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4b82dd049b23455ab9ee6d53980c042825bd117b4f0218cc4e4584b569627b06",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1321371
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -scape →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LXNjYXBl