An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Schuppe

by Friedrich Kluge

Schuppe, feminine, ‘scale (of fish, &c.),’ from the equivalent Middle High German schuoppe (schuope, schuppe), masculine, Old High German scuoppa, feminine. Compare Dutch schob, ‘scale’; a derivative of the Teutonic root skab (skôb), ‘to shave, scrape.’