"S" Word Origins

stakeout

Origin

Formed in English from the phrasal verb "stake out," turning the action into a noun.

staking

Old English

From Old English roots meaning "to drive a stake," combined with the -ing ending.

stalag

German

Borrowed from German Stalag, a shortened form of Stammlager ("main camp"), used for WWII POW camps.

stale

Middle English

From Middle English stale, from Old French estal (“fixed position, place”), but probably originally from Proto-Germanic *stāną (“to stand”): compare West Flemish stel in the same sense for ‘beer’ and ‘urine’.

stalemate

Origin

Formed from "stale" (in an old sense meaning a fixed position) plus "mate," as in checkmate.

Stalin

German

From the surname of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, itself adopted from Russian stal (\"steel\"), echoing the German word Stahl.

stalinabad

Origin

From Russian Сталинабад (Stalinabad). Named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Equivalent to Stalin + -abad.

Stalingrad

Origin · 1961

Named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin; renamed Volgograd in 1961.

stalk

Old English

From Middle English stalke, likely from an Old English root related to a stem or support, going back to a Proto-Indo-European word for "post" or "stalk."

stalker

Middle English

From Middle English stalkere, built from "stalk" plus the agent suffix -er.

stalking

Old English

From Old English roots meaning to move stealthily, combined with the -ing ending.

stall

Old English

From Old English steall, meaning "standing place" or "position," related to German Stall.

stallion

Middle French

From Middle French estalon, of Germanic origin, related to "stall" (the animal enclosure where breeding horses were kept).

Stallone

Italian

From Italian stallone (“stallion”), from Frankish *stallo, from *stall (“stable”) where the horses were kept. More at English stall.

Stalls

Origin

Variant of Staal.

stalwart

Origin

From an older Scots and English form stalworth, meaning physically strong and brave, later reshaped under the influence of Sir Walter Scott's writing.

stalworth

Origin

Nickname for a well-built or brave person, from Middle English stalworth (“physically strong, hardy, robust; brave, courageous”), from Old English stǣlwierþe (“able to stand in good stead, serviceable”).

stamboul

Origin

From variant forms of Ottoman Turkish استانبول (İstanbul), q.v. Compare Scandaroon for Iskenderun.

stamen

Origin

From New Latin stāmen, from Ancient Greek στῆμα (stêma).

Stamford

Old English

From Old English stan ("stone") and ford, referring to a stony river crossing.

stamina

Latin

From Latin stamina, the plural of stamen, originally meaning "threads" (as in the threads of life spun by fate) — the sense shifted to mean lasting strength or endurance.

stammer

Old English

From Old English stamerian, related to German stammeln and a distant cousin of the word "stumble."

stamp

Old English

From Old English stempan, meaning to crush or pound, from a Proto-Germanic root for trampling — postage stamps got their name because early postal marks were literally stamped onto letters by hand.

stampede

Germanic

From Mexican Spanish estampida, ultimately traced back through Spanish and Old Occitan to a Germanic root meaning to stamp or trample.

stan

Origin · 2000

From the title of Eminem's 2000 song "Stan," about an obsessive fan named Stan; some also read it as a blend of "stalker" and "fan."

stance

Latin

From Old French estance, related to Italian stanza and ultimately to Latin stare, "to stand" — the same root as "stand" and "stanza."

stanch

Origin

From Middle English stanch, a variant of staunch, staunche (“(adjective) in good condition or repair; solidly made, firm; watertight; of a person or wound: not bleeding; certain; intact; (adverb) firmly, soundly”) [and other forms]; see further at staunch.

stanchion

Origin

From Old French estanson, estanchon, (Modern French étançon), from estance (“a stay, a prop”), from Latin stāns (“standing”), present participle of stō.

stand

Latin

From Old English standan, "to stand, occupy a place," from a very old Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to stand" that also gave Latin stare and many related words across European languages.

standard

Old French

From Old French estandart, originally meaning a rallying flag or gathering place in battle, later merging with an English word for "flag-bearer" — its "usual/typical" sense developed from the idea of an official flag marking an accepted measure.

standby

Origin

Formed from the phrasal verb "stand by," turned into a single noun.

standee

English

From stand plus the suffix -ee, on the pattern of words like employee and attendee.

standing

Middle English

From Middle English standynge, stondynge, standende, stondinde, standande, stondande, from Old English standende, stondende, from Proto-Germanic *standandz (“standing”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”), equivalent to stand + -ing.

standish

Middle English

From Middle English standisshe, likely built from "stand" plus a suffix, describing an object that holds writing tools upright on a desk.

standoff

Origin

Formed from the phrasal verb "stand off," turned into a single noun.

standout

Origin

Formed from the phrasal verb "stand out," turned into a single noun and adjective.

standpoint

German

A calque (word-for-word translation) of the German Standpunkt, literally "standing point."

standstill

Origin

Formed from "stand" plus "still," originally as a deverbal from the phrase "stand still."

Stanford

Old English

From Old English stān ("stone") + ford, describing a stony river crossing. The university was named after Leland Stanford Jr., son of the railroad magnate who founded it in his memory.

stang

Origin

Inherited from Middle English stang, stong, from Old Norse stǫng, from Proto-Germanic *stangiz, *stangō (“bar, rod”), from Proto-Indo-European *stengʰ-, *stegʰ- (“to stick, sting, prick, be stiff”).

Stanhope

Origin

Named after the Stanhope family; the carriage after an English design associated with the Earls of Stanhope, and the optical device after Charles, third Earl Stanhope, whose work inspired it.

Stanislav

Origin

From Slavic elements stan ("to become") and slava ("glory").

stank

Origin

A dialect respelling of "stink," from a regional pronunciation pattern where "i" shifts toward "a." The music sense is a modern slang extension — a groove so raw it practically has a smell.

stanky

Origin

From stank + -y.

Stanley

Old English

From Old English stān ("stone") + lēah ("meadow" or "clearing"), originally a place name before becoming a surname and then a first name.

stanmarch

Origin

From Middle English stanmarche, from Old English stānmerċe, compound of stān (“stone”) + merċe (“smallage”).

stansfield

Origin

From Old English stan (“stone”) + feld (“field”).

Stanton

Old English

From Old English stān ("stone") + tūn ("enclosure, settlement"), a common English place name later adopted as a surname.