'shield' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'scield'/'scyld', where Proto-Germanic '*skeldą' meant 'shield'.

'shield' changed from Old English 'scield'/'scyld' (and has cognates in Old Norse 'skjǫldr' and Old High German 'scilt') and eventually became the modern English word 'shield'.

Initially it meant a physical protective device (often wooden or leather); over time its meaning broadened to include figurative protections (legal, emotional, technological).