Etymology: The existing word is < Old Norse skaðe weak masculine, harm, damage (Swedish skada (feminine), Danish skade ) = Old English sc(e)aða (masculine), one who injures, malefactor, also (rarely) hurt, injury, Old Frisian skatha , skada injury, Old Saxon skaðo (masculine), malefactor, Middle Dutch schade masculine and feminine (Dutch schade feminine), injury, Old High German skado (masculine) (Middle High German, modern German schade ) < Germanic *skaþon- , < root *skaþ- , whence Gothic skaþis harm, skaþjan = scathe v.; the ablaut-variant *skōþ- is represented in Old Norse skóð neuter, that which harms, skœ́ð-r harmful. On the other hand, Layamon's scaðe in sense 1 almost certainly had /ʃ/, and represents the Old English sceaða (the modern form of which would have been *shathe). The Middle English spelling with sch- is of doubtful phonetic interpretation: in most of the verse examples the word thus written alliterates with sk-, and must therefore be regarded as of Scandinavian etymology; but some of the other instances may possibly (though there is no definite evidence) represent the native word. The Germanic root *skaþ- is believed to represent an Indogermanic *skath-: skēth-; compare Greek ἀσκηθής unscathed.

Etymology: < Old Norse skaða impersonal, it hurts (Swedish skada , Danish skade to hurt, injure); corresponding to Old English sc(e)aðian to injure, rob, Old Frisian skathia to injure, Old Saxon scaðon (Essen Gloss.) to slander, Dutch schaden to injure, Old High German skadôn (Middle High German, modern German schaden ) < Germanic *skaþōjan , < *skaþon- scathe n.Old Norse had also another verb from the same root, skeðja (past tense skadde), corresponding to Old English scęððan (originally strong, past tense sceód, past participle (ge)sceaðen, whence by analogy an infinitive form sceaðan; commonly weak, past tense scęðede), Gothic skaþjan (past tense skōþ). There is no evidence, however, that the Old Norse skeðja was adopted in English, or that either of the Old English verbs (with initial /ʃ/) survived into Middle English.