shirt

Etymology 1

From Middle English sherte, shurte, schirte, from Old English sċyrte (“a short garment; skirt; kirtle”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurtijā, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ (“a short garment, skirt, apron”), from *skurtaz (“short”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Schoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish skjorte (“shirt”), Norwegian skjorte (“shirt”), Swedish skjorta (“shirt”), Faroese skjúrta (“shirt”), Icelandic skyrta (“shirt”). English skirt is a parallel formation from Old Norse; which is a doublet of short, from the same ultimate source.

noun

1. An article of clothing that is worn on the upper part of the body, and often has sleeves, either long or short, that cover the arms.
   It can take a while to learn how to iron a shirt properly.
   She had her shertes & gyrdyls of heere. 1509, John Fisher, A Mornynge Remembraunce[…]
   Holt was furious referee Michael Oliver refused to then award him a penalty after Ledley King appeared to pull his shirt and his anger was compounded when Spurs immediately levelled. April 9, 2012, Mandeep Sanghera, “Tottenham 1 - 2 Norwich”, in BBC Sport
2. An interior lining in a blast furnace.
3. A member of the shirt-wearing team in a shirts and skins game.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sherten, shirten (also shorten), from the noun (see above).

verb

1. To cover or clothe with a shirt, or as if with a shirt.
   1691, King Arthur, by John Dryden, act II, scene I. Ah! for so many souls, as but this morn / Were clothed with flesh, and warm’d with vital blood / But naked now, or shirted just with air.