shock
/ʃɔk/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.46 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The train hit the buffers with a great shock."
- "My mother's news was a shock I still haven't recovered from."
- "Carl had a shock at what he found."
- "A tremendous shock arises when a secret is discovered."
- "The surprising blast of cold water on my face was a tremendous shock."
- "We gave him a couple shocks, but the patient passed away anywway."
Etymology
From Middle Dutch schokken (“to push, jolt, shake, jerk”) or Middle French choquer (“to collide with, clash”), from Old Dutch *skokkan (“to shake up and down, shog”), from Proto-Germanic *skukkaną (“to move, shake, tremble”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skakaną (“to shake, stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek-, *(s)keg- (“to shake, stir”); see shake. Cognate with Middle Low German schocken (“collide with, deliver a blow to, move back and forth”), Old High German scoc (“a jolt, swing”), Middle High German schocken (“to swing”) (German schaukeln), Old Norse skykkr (“vibration, surging motion”), Icelandic skykkjun (“tremulously”), Middle English schiggen (“to shake”). Doublet of shog.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *skek-, schokken, choquer, *skokkan, *skukkaną, *skakaną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʃɔk/
- British English: /ʃɒk/