*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of shite

From the Middle English shite, schite, scīte (“excrement”), cognate with Middle Low German schīte, Middle High German schīze, Dutch schijt. Compare Middle English shitel, scitel, scytel (“dung, excrement”), from Old Engl

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
intj

An expression of annoyance or dismay.

noun

Shit; trash; rubbish; nonsense. · A foolish or deceitful person.

adj

Bad; awful; shit.

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

From the Middle English shite, schite, scīte (“excrement”), cognate with Middle Low German schīte, Middle High German schīze, Dutch schijt. Compare Middle English shitel, scitel, scytel (“dung, excrement”), from Old English sċitel. More at shit. Doublet of scheisse.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "shite"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English shite"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "schīte"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German schīte"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "schīze"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German schīze"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "schijt"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch schijt"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "shitel"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English shitel"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "sċitel"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sċitel"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "scheisse"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of scheisse"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "shite",
      "shite#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "schite",
      "schite#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "scīte",
      "scite#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "schīte",
      "schite#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "schīze",
      "schize#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "schijt",
      "schijt#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "shitel",
      "shitel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "scitel",
      "scitel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "scytel",
      "scytel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sċitel",
      "scitel#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "shit",
      "shit#English"
    ],
    [
      "scheisse",
      "scheisse#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "An expression of annoyance or dismay."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "vulgar"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216403
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Shit; trash; rubbish; nonsense.",
        "A foolish or deceitful person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "uncountable",
        "usually",
        "vulgar",
        "countable",
        "derogatory",
        "uncommon"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Bad; awful; shit."
      ],
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        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "vulgar"
      ],
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To defecate.

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

From Middle English schiten, from Old English sċītan (“to defecate, shit”), from Proto-West Germanic *skītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītaną (“to defecate”), from Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyd-, *skeyt- (“to vomit, retch, shit”, literally “to shed”). Cognate with Dutch schijten (“to shit”), German scheißen (“to shit”), Swedish skita (“to shit”), Irish sceith, sgeith (“act of spewing, vomiting, shedding”), Albanian shqit (“to tear, separate”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "schiten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English schiten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sċītan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to defecate, shit"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sċītan (“to defecate, shit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*skītan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *skītan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*skītaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to defecate"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *skītaną (“to defecate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sḱeyd-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyd-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "schijten",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to shit"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch schijten (“to shit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "scheißen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to shit"
      },
      "expansion": "German scheißen (“to shit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "skita",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to shit"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish skita (“to shit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "sceith"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish sceith"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "shqit",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to tear, separate"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian shqit (“to tear, separate”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "schiten",
      "schiten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sċītan",
      "scitan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*skītan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/skītan"
    ],
    [
      "*skītaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skītaną"
    ],
    [
      "*sḱeyd-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sḱeyd-"
    ],
    [
      "*skeyt-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/skeyt-"
    ],
    [
      "schijten",
      "schijten#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "scheißen",
      "scheißen#German"
    ],
    [
      "skita",
      "skita#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "sceith",
      "sceith#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "sgeith",
      "sgeith#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "shqit",
      "shqit#Albanian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To defecate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "recordId": "514b72ddda1803d8b0567f281b24666873b2f945cf74c2b174ca6423bbd90bdf",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

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 shite →

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-c2hpdGU