An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Scheit

by Friedrich Kluge

Scheit, neuter, ‘log, billet, fragment,’ from Middle High German schît, Old High German scît, neuter, ‘log of wood’; corresponding to the equivalent Old Frisian skîd, Anglo-Saxon sčîde, English shide, Old Icelandic skið. The root is the Aryan form skhait, skhī̆t, discussed under scheiden, the primary meaning of which, ‘to split,’ appears still in Modern High German Scheit; compare Greek σχίζα (from *ἔσχίδja), ‘splinter,’ Lithuanian skëdrà, Lettic skaida, ‘chip,’ from the root skhit (see scheiden). —