Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary

noun neuter a-stem ship any hollow or concave manmade object vessel, tub Uncertain etymology. One theory derives it from Proto-Indo-European *skēi-b-, *ski-b-, which would be an extension of *skey- (‘to cut’). Compare Lithuanian skiẽbti (‘to rip up’), Latvian škibît (‘to cut, lop’). A relation to Proto-Germanic *skapjaną (‘to create, shape’) has been considered related as well, but the phonetics pose difficulties. The original meaning inherited from Proto-Indo-European was likely “hollowed tree”, and all daughter languages agree in the meaning “ship”, thus the specified meaning “ship” is assumed for Proto-Germanic; however the Old High German word also had the meaning “hollow object” and described various vessels and containers, so the Proto-Germanic word could also have been used in a more generic fashion. Moreover, one meaning does not have to exclude the other by rule. Compare the development of Old Norse skeið (‘sheath; spoon; ship’), also from an extension of *skey-; cf. also unrelated Latin vās (‘hollow object’), source of French vaisseau (‘vessel’). Kroonen instead claims that this word would rather be a loanword from Latin scyphus (‘drinking vessel’).