The Viking Etymology of “Skirt”

The word skirt comes from the Old Norse word skyrta, which meant “shirt” or “tunic.” Historically, a skirt is just a shirt that migrated south.

When Old Norse mixed with Old English, a funny thing happened. Skyrta and scyrte were similar enough that English kept both, but gave them different meanings. One became “shirt,” the other became “skirt.”

So if anyone asks why you're wearing a skirt, you can tell them you're just following Viking fashion. They wore tunics that looked a lot like dresses anyway... loose, belted, and practical.

Turns out, you’re not breaking tradition. You’re reviving it.

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Thanks to Darling Axe for pointing this out on Threads.

Image by Les Whalley from Pixabay.