English Explanatory Dictionary

eschew

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.

Pronunciation

/ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/ /ɪsˈt͡ʃuː/ /ɪʃˈt͡ʃuː/ /ɛsˈt͡ʃu/ /ɪsˈt͡ʃu/ /ɛsˈt͡ʃju/ en-us-eschew.ogg /ɛˈʃu/ /ɪˈʃu/ /ɛˈskju/

Word forms

eschew eschews eschewing eschewed

Etymology

From Middle English eschewen, from Anglo-Norman eschiver, (third-person present eschiu), from Frankish *skiuhijan (“to dread, shun, avoid”); thus a doublet of skew. For the pronunciation with /ʃ/, compare the development of marshal from Middle English marschal (/marsˈt͡ʃaːl/) or Middle English myssheve, variant of myschef (“hardship”). Variants in /sk/ are either from unattested Middle English *eskewen (from Old Northern French eskiver; compare skew) or are spelling pronunciations. See also French esquiver.

Related words

shy

Derived words

eschewable eschewal eschewer eschewment umbeschew uneschewable uneschewed
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