An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/schaffen

by Friedrich Kluge

schaffen, verb, ‘to create, procure, obtain, bring,’ from Middle High German schaffen, Old High German scaffan, ‘to create, effect, arrange, do, make.’ Also in a similar sense Old High German scępfen, skęffen, Gothic gaskapjan, Anglo-Saxon sčyppan, Old Saxon scęppian and Gothic *skapôn, Old High German scaffôn, Middle High German schaffen. These imply a root skap peculiar to Teutonic, the connection of which with schaben is not quite certain; see also schöpfen. Old Teutonic had a number of substantival derivatives from the same root, such as Modern High German Schöpfung, Geschöpf, and English shape; see the following word and Schöffe.