shut

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To close something, or to become closed.

   Please shut the door.

2. 2
   adj

   Not open; closed.

   The door slammed shut in the wind.

3. 3
   verb

   To keep someone or something inside an enclosed space.

   I shut the cat in the kitchen before going out.

From Middle English schitten, schetten, from Old English scyttan (“to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttijaną (“to bar, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō (“bar, bolt, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to drive, fall upon, rush”). The Modern English word was originally a dialect form; the Old English word would have normally merged with shit. Cognate with Dutch schutten (“to shut in, lock up”), Low German schütten (“to shut, lock in”), German schützen (“to shut out, dam, protect, guard”).

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