Etymology
The word schwa is from the Hebrew word shva (שְׁוָא, shewa’ ), which designates the Hebrew niqqud vowel sign shva ⟨ ְ ⟩ that in Modern Hebrew indicates either the phoneme /e/ or the complete absence of a vowel. Also the Hebrew shva is sometimes represented by the upside-down ə symbol for schwa, a misleading transliteration, since the schwa vowel is not representative of modern Hebrew pronunciation of shva and is not characteristic of earlier pronunciations either (see Tiberian vocalization → Mobile Shwa). The term was introduced into European linguistics by Jacob Grimm in the early 19th century, so the spelling sch is German in origin. It was first used in English texts between 1890–1895.
The letter ⟨ə⟩ was first used by Schmeller for the reduced vowel at the end of German gabe. Ellis, in his Palæotype alphabet, used it for the similar English sound in but.
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