Shunt
/ʃʌnt/noun
To push or divert something aside; in rail and electrical contexts, to route current or traffic around a path.
Did you know?Shunt is first recorded in dialectal English with the sense “to move aside,” and its exact origin is uncertain, but it may be related to older Scandinavian words meaning “to jostle” or “push.”
Etymological Timeline
Early 17th Century
English
shunt
“To move or cause to move aside; to avoid or evade.”
17th–18th Century
English
shunt
“To divert a train or carriage from one track to another.”
19th Century
English
shunt
“To provide an alternative path for an electric current.”
Modern English
English
shunt
“To divert, bypass, or sidetrack something physically or figuratively.”