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sha·doof also sha·duf

(shä-df)

A device consisting of a long suspended pole weighted at one end and having a bucket at the other end, used in the Near East and especially Egypt for raising water, as for the irrigation of land.

[Egyptian colloquial Arabic šādūf, perhaps (via an unattested Coptic form) from Egyptian *šdw.f, something equipped with a waterskin or bucket of leather (since traditional shadoofs have buckets of leather) : šdw, waterskin + -f, , denominal suffix.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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