'ashame' originates from Middle English, specifically forms such as 'aschamen' or 'ashamen', where the prefix 'a-' was a verbal-forming element and the root 'shame' (from Old English 'scamu') meant 'shame'.

'ashame' changed from Middle English 'aschamen' (and earlier Old English verbal forms related to 'scamu') and was used in earlier stages of English to mean 'to cause shame'; the modern language mostly lost 'ashame' as a productive verb while related forms like 'ashamed' remained.

Initially it meant 'to cover with shame, cause shame', but over time it became archaic and its functions were largely taken over by the verb 'shame' and the adjective 'ashamed'.