'deshell' is a modern English formation combining the Latin prefix 'de-' and the English word 'shell' (from Old English 'scell'), where 'de-' meant 'off' or 'remove' and 'scell' meant 'shell' or 'outer covering'.

'shell' changed from the Old English word 'scell' (and Middle English forms such as 'schel'/'shel(e)') and eventually became the modern English word 'shell'; 'deshell' was formed in modern English by prefixing 'de-' to 'shell' to indicate removal.

Initially the elements meant 'remove' (de-) and 'outer covering' ('scell'/'shell'); over time the combined verb came to mean specifically 'remove the shell or outer covering', the sense used today.