Online Etymology Dictionary

Shangri La: "imaginary earthly paradise," 1938, from Shangri La, name of Tibetan utopia in James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon" (1933). In Tibetan, la means "mountain pass."
shank (v.): 1927, originally in golf, "to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club," from shank (n.). Related: Shanked; shanking.
shank (n.): Old English sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone," from Proto-Germanic *skankon- (cf. Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps literally "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked" (cf. Old Norse skakkr "wry, distorted," Greek skazein "to limp"). Specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle. Shank's mare "one's own legs as a means of transportation" is attested from 1774.
shantung (n.): coarse silk, 1882, from Shantung province, in China, where the fabric was made.
shanty (n.1): "rough cabin," 1820, from Canadian French chantier "lumberjack's headquarters," in French, "timberyard, dock," from Old French chantier "gantry," from Latin cantherius "rafter, frame" (see gantry). Shanty Irish is from 1928 (title of a book by Jim Tully).
shanty (n.2): "sea song," 1867, alternative spelling of chanty.
shantytown (n.): also shanty town, 1836, from shanty (n.1) + town.
shape (v.): Old English scapan, past participle of scieppan "to create, form, destine," from Proto-Germanic *skapjanan "create, ordain" (cf. Old Norse skapa, Danish skabe, Old Frisian skeppa, Old High German scaffan, German schaffen), from PIE root *(s)kep- a base forming words meaning "to cut, scrape, hack" (see shave), which acquired broad technical senses and in Germanic a specific sense of "to create." Old English scieppan survived into Middle English as shippen, but shape emerged as a regular verb (with past tense shaped) by 1500s.

The old past participle form shapen survives in misshapen. Phrase Shape up (v.) is attested from 1865 as "progress;" from 1938 as "reform;" shape up or ship out is attested from 1956, originally U.S. military slang, with the sense being "do right or get shipped up to active duty."
shape (n.): Old English gesceap "creation, form, destiny," from root of shape (v.)). Meaning "contours of the body" is attested from late 14c. Meaning "condition, state" is first recorded 1865, American English. In Middle English, the word also had a sense of "a woman's private parts."
shapely (adj.): "well-formed," late 14c., from shape (n.) + -ly (1).
shard (n.): Old English sceard "fragment, gap," from Proto-Germanic *skardas, a past participle from the root of Old English sceran "to cut" (see shear). Cf. Dutch schaard "a flaw, a fragment," German Scharte "a notch," Danish skaar "chink, potsherd." Meaning "fragment of broken earthenware" developed in late Old English. French écharde "prickle, splinter" is a Germanic loan-word.
share (n.1): "portion," Old English scearu "a cutting, shearing, division," related to sceran "to cut," from Proto-Germanic *skaro- (cf. Old High German scara "troop, share of forced labor," German Schar "troop, band," properly "a part of an army," Old Norse skör "rim"), from PIE root *sker- "to cut" (see shear). Meaning "part of the capital of a joint stock company" is first attested c.1600.
share (n.2): "iron blade of a plow," Old English scear, scær "plowshare," prop. "that which cuts," from Proto-Germanic *skar- (cf. Old Frisian skere, Middle Low German schar, Old High German scar, German Schar, Dutch ploegschaar, Middle High German pfluocschar), from PIE root *(s)ker- "to cut" (see shear).
share (v.): 1580s, to apportion to someone as his share," from share (n.1). Meaning "to divide one's own and give part to others" is recorded from 1590s. Related: Shared; sharing.
sharecropper (n.): also share cropper, share-cropper, 1887, in a U.S. Southern context; from share + agent noun from crop (v.). Share-crop system attested from 1871. To share-crop is recorded by 1867. Sharecropping attested by 1936.
shareholder (n.): c.1830, from share (n.1) in the financial sense + agent noun from hold (v.).
shareware (n.): by 1982, from share (v.) + ware.
sharia (n.): Islamic religious law, 1855, from Arabic shari'ah "the revealed law," from shar' "revelation."
sharif (n.): 1560, shereef, from Arabic sharif "noble, glorious," from sharafa "to be exalted." A descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima.
shark (n.): 1560s, of uncertain origin; apparently the word and the first specimen were brought to London by Capt. John Hawkins's second expedition (landed 1565; see Hakluyt).
There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a 'sharke' [handbill advertising an exhibition of the specimen, 1569]
The meaning "dishonest person who preys on others," though only attested from 1599 (sharker in this sense is from 1594), may be the original sense, later applied to the large, voracious marine fish. It is possibly from German Schorck, a variant of Schurke "scoundrel, villain," agent noun of Middle High German schürgen (German schüren) "to poke, stir."

But on another theory, the English word is possibly a Mayan loan-word xoc which might have meant "shark." Northern Europeans seem not to have been familiar with sharks before voyages to the tropics began. A slightly earlier name for it in English was tiburon, via Spanish (where it is attested by 1520s), from the Carib name for the fish.

The English word was applied to voracious or predatory persons, on the image of the fish, from 1707 (originally of pick-pockets); loan shark is attested from 1905. Sharkskin was used for binding books, etc. As the name of a type of fabric held to resemble it, it is recorded from 1932.
There is the ordinary Brown Shark, or sea attorney, so called by sailors; a grasping, rapacious varlet, that in spite of the hard knocks received from it, often snapped viciously at our steering oar. [Herman Melville, "Mardi"]
Sharon: fem. proper name; name of the fertile coastal plain between Jaffa and Mount Carmel, from Hebrew, short for yesharon, properly "the Plain," from stem of yashar "was straight, was even" (cf. Hebrew mishor "level land, plain"). A top-10 list name for girls born in the U.S. between 1943 and 1949.
sharp (adj.): Old English scearp "cutting, keen, sharp," from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, literally "cutting" (cf. Old Saxon scarp, Old Norse skarpr, Old Frisian skerp, Dutch scherp, German scharf "sharp"), from PIE *(s)ker- "cut" (cf. Lettish skarbs "sharp," Middle Irish cerb "cutting;" see shear). The figurative meaning "acute or penetrating in intellect or perception" is from Old English. The meaning "promptly" is first attested 1840. The musical meaning "half step above a given tone" is from 1570s. Phrase sharp as a tack first recorded 1912 (sharp as a needle has been around since Old English).
sharp (n.): "a cheat at games," 1797, short for sharper (1681), probably a variant of sharker (see shark). Meaning "expert, connoisseur" is attested friom 1840, and likely is from sharp (adj.).
sharpen (v.): 1520s, from sharp + -en (1). Related: Sharpened; sharpening.
sharpener (n.): 1630s, agent noun from sharpen.
Sharps: type of breech-loading single-shot rifle, 1850, from J. Christian Sharps (1811-74), U.S. gunsmith.
sharpshooter (n.): 1802, translation of German Scharfschütze.
shatter (v.): early 14c., probably a variant of Middle English scateren (see scatter). Cf. Old Dutch schetteren Low German schateren. Related: Shattered; shattering.
shave (v.): Old English sceafan "to scrape, shave, polish," from Proto-Germanic *skabanan (cf. Old Norse skafa, Middle Dutch scaven, German schaben, Gothic skaban), from PIE *skabh-, collateral form of root *(s)kep- "to cut, to scrape, to hack" (cf. Greek skaptein "to dig," Latin scabere "to scratch, scrape;" see shear). Related: Shaved; shaving. Original strong verb status is preserved in past tense form shaven. Specifically in reference to cutting the hair close from mid-13c. Figurative sense of "to strip (someone) of money or possessions" is attested from late 14c.
shave (n.): c.1600, "something shaved off;" from shave (v.); Old English sceafa meant "tool for shaving." Meaning "a grazing touch" is recorded from 1834. Shaver "one who shaves" is recorded from early 15c.; sense of "fellow, chap" is slang from 1590s; phrase a close shave is from 1856, on notion of "a slight, grazing touch."
Shavian (adj.): 1903, "in the style or manner of George Bernard Shaw" (1856-1950). An earlier form was Shawian (1894).
shavuot (n.): 1892, from Hebrew šabuot, plural of šabua "week."
shaw (n.): "strip of wood forming the border of a field," 1570s, from Old English sceaga "copse," cognate with North Frisian skage "farthest edge of cultivated land," Old Norse skage "promontory," and perhaps with Old English sceaga "rough matted hair" (see shag (n.)). The Old English word also is the source of the surname Shaw (attested from late 12c.) and related forms.
shawl (n.): 1660s, originally of a type of scarf worn in Asia, from Urdu and other Indian languages, from Persian shal, sometimes said to be named for Shaliat, town in India where it was first manufactured. Cf. French châle, Spanish chal, Italian scialle, German Shawl (from English), Russian shal, all ultimately from the same source. As the name of an article of clothing worn by Western women, it is recorded from 1767.
shawm (n.): "medieval oboe-like instrument," mid-14c., schalmeis (plural), also schallemele (late 14c.), from Old French chalemie, chalemel, from Late Latin calamellus, literally "a small reed," diminutive of Latin calamus "reed," from Greek kalamos, from PIE *kole-mo- "grass, reed" (cf. Old English healm "straw," Latin culmus "stalk"). Mistaken as a plural and trimmed of its "-s" ending from mid-15c.
Shawnee: Algonquian people, probably originally from what is now southern Ohio, 1674, from Munsee sawanow, from Shawnee /ša:wanwa/, the people's self-designation, literally "person of the south."
shay (n.): 1717, back-formation from chaise (q.v.) mistaken as a plural.
shazam: invented word from "Captain Marvel" comics, 1940.
she (pron.): mid-12c., probably evolving from Old English seo, sio (accusative sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the." The Old English word for "she" was heo, hio, however by 13c. the pronunciation of this had converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," which apparently led to the fem. demonstrative pronoun being used in place of the pronoun (cf. similar development in Dutch zij, German sie, Greek he, etc.). The original h- survives in her. A relic of the Old English pronoun is in Manchester-area dialectal oo "she."
she-devil (n.): "difficult woman," 1840, from she + devil (n.).
she-male (n.): early 19c. U.S. colloquial, "a female, a woman," from she + male.
Davy Crockett's hand would be sure to shake if his iron was pointed within a hundred miles of a shemale. ["Treasury of American Folklore"]
By 1972 it had come to be used (disparagingly) for "masculine lesbian." The sense of "transsexual male" seems to date from c.1984.
sheaf (n.): Old English sceaf "sheaf of corn," from Proto-Germanic *skaubaz (cf. Middle Dutch scoof, Old High German scoub, German Schaub "sheaf;" Old Norse skauf "fox's tail;" Gothic skuft "hair on the head," German Schopf "tuft"). Also used in Middle English for "two dozen arrows."
shear (v.): Old English sceran, scieran (class IV strong verb; past tense scear, past participle scoren), from Proto-Germanic *sker- "to cut" (cf. Old Norse and Old Frisian skera, Dutch scheren, German scheren "to shear"), from PIE *(s)ker- "to cut, to scrape, to hack" (cf. Sanskrit krnati "hurts, wounds, kills," krntati "cuts;" Hittite karsh- "to cut off;" Greek keirein "to cut, shear;" Lithuanian skiriu "to separate;" Old Irish scaraim "I separate;" Welsh ysgar "to separate," ysgyr "fragment").
shears (n.): "large scissors," Old English sceara (plural), from Proto-Germanic *skær-; see shear. In 17c., also "a device for raising the masts of ships" (1620s).
sheath (n.): Old English sceað, scæð, from Proto-Germanic *skaithiz (cf. Old Saxon scethia, Old Norse skeiðir (plural), Old Frisian skethe, Middle Dutch schede, Dutch schede, Old High German skaida, German scheide "scabbard"), possibly from root *skaith "divide, split" (see shed (v.)) on notion of a split stick with the sword blade inserted. Meaning "condom" is recorded from 1861; sense of "close-fitting dress or skirt" is attested from 1904.
sheathe (v.): c.1400, "to furnish (a sword, etc.) with a sheath," from sheath; meaning "to put (a sword, etc.) in a sheath" is attested from early 15c. Related: Sheathed; sheathing.
sheave (v.): "to gather up in sheaves," 1570s; see sheaf. Related: Sheaved; sheaving.
shebang (n.): 1862, "hut, shed, shelter," perhaps an alteration of shebeen (q.v.). Phrase the whole shebang first recorded 1869, but relation to the earlier use of the word is obscure. Either or both senses may also be mangled pronunciations of French char-à-banc, a bus-like wagon with many seats.
shebeen (n.): "cabin where unlicensed liquor is sold and drunk," c.1787, chiefly in Ireland and Scotland, from Irish seibin "small mug," also "bad ale," diminutive of seibe "mug, bottle, liquid measure."
shed (n.): "building for storage," late 15c., shadde, possibly a variant of shade (q.v.).