potsherd

Meaning

Noun

• A piece of ceramic from pottery, often found on an archaeological site.

Origin

• From Middle English pot-sherd, pot-schord, pot scherd, pot scarth, from Middle English pot, pote, potte (from late Old English pot, pott, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *budn- ("a type of vessel")) + Middle English sherd ("piece of fired clay or broken earthenware; potsherd") (from Old English sceard ("a shard, sherd"), from Proto-Germanic *skardą ("a nick, notch")); equivalent to pot + sherd.