Skiing, or traveling over snow on skis, has a history of almost five millennia. The earliest archaeological examples of skis were found in Russia and date to 5000 BCE. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, 100-millennia-old wall paintings suggest use of skis in the Xinjiang region of what is now China. Originally purely utilitarian, starting in the mid-1800s skiing became a popular recreational activity and sport, being practiced around the world, and providing crucial economic support to purpose-built ski resorts and communities.
Etymology and usage
The word ski comes from the Old Norse word “skíð” which means stick of wood or ski. The word “ski” has a wider meaning in Norwegian, for instance “vedski” meaning “splitwood for making fire” or “skigard” meaning “a wooden split-rail fence”.
In modern Norwegian this word is usually pronounced [ˈʃiː]. English and French use the original spelling “ski”, and modify the pronunciation. In Italian it is pronounced as in Norwegian, and the spelling is modified: “sci”. German, Portuguese and Spanish adapt the word to their linguistic rules; “Schier” (however there is a form- Ski), “esqui” and “esquí”. Many languages make a verb form out of the noun, such as “to ski” in English, “skier” in French, “esquiar” in Portuguese and Spanish, “sciare” in Italian, or “schilaufen” (as above also Ski laufen or Ski fahren) in German which is not possible in Norwegian. In Swedish, a close relation to Norwegian, the word is “skidor”.
Finnish has its own ancient words for skis and skiing. In Finnish ski is suksi and skiing is hiihtää. The Sami also have their own words for skis and skiing. For example, the Lule Sami word for ski is “sabek” and skis are “sabega”.
History of skiing