closes something (like a door, window, or one's mouth), or stops something from operating.
From Old English 'scyttan' meaning to bar or bolt a door. Related to 'shot' (a locked position). The word has meant closing things for over 1,000 years in English.
The words 'shut,' 'shot,' and 'shutter' all come from the same Old English root—they all involve closing or blocking something, which is why you 'shut' a door the same way a gun is 'shot' shut!
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