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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

school

/skuːl/
An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English scole, from Old English scōl (“place of education”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, from Late Latin schola, scola (“learned discussion or dissertation, lecture, school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold, have, possess”). Doublet of schola and shul.

    Compare Old Frisian skūle, schūle (“school”) (West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule), Dutch school (“school”), Low German School (“school”), Old High German scuola (“school”), German Schule (“school”), Old Norse skóli (“school”).

    Influenced in some senses by Middle English schole (“group of persons, host, company”), from Middle Dutch scole (“multitude, troop, band”). See school (“group”). Related also to Old High German sigi (German Sieg, “victory”), Old English siġe, sigor (“victory”).

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English scole, schole (“group of persons, multitude, host, school of fish”), from Middle Dutch scole (“multitude, troop of people, swarm of animals”), from Old Dutch *scola, *skola (“troop, multitude”), from Proto-West Germanic *skulu (“troop, group”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷel- (“crowd, people”).

    Cognate with Middle Low German schōle (“multitude, troop”), Old English scolu (“troop or band of people, host, multitude, school of fish”). Doublet of shoal.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*seǵʰ- “to hold, have, possess”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishscole
      • inheritedOld Englishscōl “place of education”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*skōlu
          • derivedLate Latinschola
            • derivedAncient Greekσχολή “spare time, leisure”
      • derivedMiddle Dutchscole “multitude, troop, band”
        • derivedOld Dutch*scola
          • derivedProto-West Germanic*skulu “troop, group”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*(s)kʷel- “crowd, people”

    Related: English shoal (doublet), English shul (doublet), English schola (doublet), Old Frisian skūle, West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule, Dutch school, Low German School, Old High German scuola, German Schule, Old Norse skóli, Middle Dutch scole, German Sieg, Old High German sigi, Old English siġe, Middle Low German schōle, Old English scolu

    Words built on it: old school, public school

    Meanings

    noun
    1. An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.
    2. An educational institution providing primary and secondary education, prior to tertiary education (college or university).
    3. At Eton College, a period or session of teaching.
    4. Within a larger educational institution, an organizational unit, such as a department or institute, which is dedicated to a specific subject area.
    5. An art movement, a community of artists.
    6. The followers of a particular doctrine; a particular way of thinking or particular doctrine; a school of thought.
    verb
    1. To educate, teach, or train (often, but not necessarily, in a school).
    2. To defeat emphatically, to teach an opponent a harsh lesson.
    3. To control, or compose, one’s expression.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: school