From Middle Dutch schots, with further etymology unclear. Most likely from schot (“shot”) + -s, but with unclear development in meaning. Possibly from the strong verb schieten (“to shoot”), though that seems unlikely as the word is young and only found in Dutch. Probably not from the word Schots (“Scottish”), as the word is spelled with a final -s in even the oldest attestations, yet Schots used to be spelled with a final -sch.
schots (comparative schotser, superlative meest schots or schotst)
| Declension of schots | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | schots | |||
| inflected | schotse | |||
| comparative | schotser | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | schots | schotser | het schotst het schotste | |
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | schotse | schotsere | schotste |
| n. sing. | schots | schotser | schotste | |
| plural | schotse | schotsere | schotste | |
| definite | schotse | schotsere | schotste | |
| partitive | schots | schotsers | — | |
From earlier schos, with further etymology unknown. Possibly from schors (“bark, outer layer”) with dialectal loss of ⟨r⟩ and later folk etymological addition of a ⟨t⟩, under influence of Etymology 1.
schots f (plural schotsen, diminutive schotsje n)