Shoulder
/ˈʃoʊl.dər/noun
To accept or bear responsibility, a burden, or an obligation.
Did you know?The responsibility sense developed from the physical act of placing or carrying a burden on the shoulder, making an abstract obligation feel literally embodied.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (possibly)
PIE
*skel-
“To split or cut; a proposed ancestral root connected with the shoulder word, though the etymology is uncertain.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skuldrō
“Shoulder; the reconstructed Germanic ancestor of the word.”
Old English
Old English
sculdor
“Shoulder, especially the bodily part supporting the arm.”
Middle English
Middle English
sholder
“Shoulder; the spelling shifted as English sound patterns changed.”
16th Century
English
shoulder
“To push or thrust with the shoulder.”
17th Century
English
shoulder
“To take a burden, duty, or responsibility upon oneself.”
Modern English
English
shoulder
“To bear responsibility or an obligation, as in “shoulder the blame.””