Sceppan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To shape or form something by molding or crafting it manually ; to create or bring into existence through deliberate effort ; to fashion or carve an object from raw material
2. To produce or make by shaping with hands or tools ; to cause to exist or appear by means of intention ; to construct or sculpt an item with skill
3. To mold or make a form by manual manipulation ; to originate or generate through conscious creation ; to carve or build an artifact from basic substances

Etymology: Old English "sceppan" meant "to shape, form, or create," and it was the source of the modern English verb "shape" (earlier "shapen," the past participle form that later became the verb itself). Its nearest kin are in Old Saxon "skapan" and Old High German "scaffen," and the same root gave German "schaffen," meaning "to create" or "to work." Those cousins share a prehistoric ancestor reconstructed as a verb meaning to cut or form, which fits the hands-on sense in the modern gloss. The most surprising link is the verb "shape" itself, which almost hides its past. Its sense in English stayed close to the physical act of forming a thing, and the same root also produced "shaft" (originally a spear or arrow shaft) and "shape" in its noun form as well, all carrying that idea of something cut or shaped into a particular form. The Old English verb was a common, workaday word, used for everything from pottery to the creation of the world in religious writing.

Synonyms: to scoop, to scoop up

Antonyms: to pour