short

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Measuring a small length or distance from one end to the other.

   She has short hair and wears glasses.

2. 2
   adj

   Lasting only a small amount of time.

   We took a short break before continuing the meeting.

3. 3
   adj

   Not having enough of something.

   I'm a little short of cash this month.

4. 4
   adv

   Before reaching the point or goal you were aiming for.

   Their results fell short of what everyone expected.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Short is recorded from Old English and shares an ancient root with shirt and skirt. The probable basic sense of that root was “short garment.”

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-der.? Proto-Germanic *skertaną Proto-Germanic *skurtaz Proto-West Germanic *skurt Old English sċort Middle English schort English short From Middle English schort, short, from Old English sċeort, sċort (“short”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurt, from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. Doublet of shirt, skirt, and curt. Cognates Cognate with Scots short, schort (“short”), French court, Dutch kort, German kurz, Old High German scurz (“short”) (whence Middle High German schurz), Old Norse skorta (“to lack”) (whence Dani…

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary