"S" Word Origins

steamroller

Origin

A compound of steam + roller, from the original steam-powered road-flattening machines.

steamship

Origin

A compound of steam + ship.

steamy

Origin

Formed from steam + -y.

Stedman

Origin · 1600

Named after Fabian Stedman, the 17th-century English bell-ringer who devised the method.

steed

Old English

From Old English steda, "stallion" — related to a Germanic root meaning "herd of horses."

steek

Origin

From Scots steek, from Middle English steke (“to enclose”) and Middle Dutch steken (“to stitch”). Noun from Scots steek (“stitch”), from Middle Dutch steek (“stitch”). More at stick, stitch.

steel

Old English

From Old English stiele, related to a Germanic root meaning "to be firm or rigid."

Steele

Middle English

From Middle English stele (“steel”); either a metal worker or a person considered to be as hard as steel.

steelie

Origin

From steel + -ie.

steely

Origin

Formed from steel + -y.

Steen

Dutch

* As a general Germanic surname, from Dutch Steen, West Flemish van der steen, Danish Steen, Swedish Steen, Norwegian Steen. Doublet of Stone and Stein. Compare Staines. * As a Scottish surname, shortened from Stephen. * As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from mac Stiamhna (“son of Stephen”), usually Anglicized as McStephen, McStein.

steep

Old English

From Old English steap, "high, lofty," from a Germanic root meaning "to push or stick up."

steeper

Origin

Formed from steep + -er.

steeple

Old English

From Old English stiepel, "tower," related to steep — likely from the sense of something rising sharply upward.

steer

Old English

From Old English stēoran, "to steer or guide a vessel," related to the noun for a ship's rudder — the same root behind the word "stern."

steerage

Origin

From "steer" plus the suffix "-age," originally meaning simply "the act of steering," later extended to the cramped lower decks where the ship's steering gear was once located.

steerer

Origin

From steer + -er.

Stefan

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath" — the same root as the English word "Stephen."

Stegman

Origin

Variant of Stegmann.

stein

German

From German Stein, "stone" — likely a shortening of Steinkrug, "stone jug," describing the material the mug was originally made from.

Steinberg

German

From German stein ("stone") and berg ("mountain").

Steiner

German

Borrowed from German Steiner.

Steinmetz

German

From German stein ("stone") and Metz ("mason").

stela

Origin

From Latin stēla, from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē). Doublet of stele.

stell

Old English

From Old English stellan, "to place or set," related to the modern word "stall."

Stella

Latin

From Latin stella, "star" — the origin of the beer brand's name.

stellar

Latin

From Latin stellaris, "of the stars," from stella, "star."

stellate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin stēllātus (“starry”), from stēlla (“star”) + -ātus (“-ate”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to stell(a) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

stellify

Origin

From Middle English stellifien (“to make into a star; glorify, deify”), from Middle French stellifier, from Medieval Latin stellificāre, itself from Latin stella (“star”) + faciō (“make, do”).

stellion

Origin

From Latin stellio (“a newt with starlike spots on its back”), from stella (“star”).

stem

Old English

From Old English stemn, "stem, trunk," from a Germanic root meaning "to stand" — the same deep root that gives us "stand" and "stamen."

stemma

Origin

Borrowed from Latin stemma, from Ancient Greek στέμμα (stémma).

Sten

Origin

The name is an acronym built from the initials of its designers, Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, plus "EN" for the Enfield factory where it was made.

stench

Old English

From Old English stenc, originally meaning any strong smell, good or bad — over time it narrowed to mean specifically a foul one.

stenchy

Origin

From Middle English stenchi (“malodorous”), equivalent to stench + -y. More at stench, -y.

stencil

Old French

Traces back to Old French estenceler, "to sparkle," from estencele, "spark" — the link to decoration comes from the idea of dotting a surface with bright flecks of colour.

steno

Origin

Clipping of stenographer or stenography.

stenographer

Origin

Formed from "stenography" (shorthand writing) plus the agent suffix "-er."

stenography

Origin

From steno- (“narrow”) + -graphy.

stenosis

Greek

From Greek 'stenosis', a narrowing, from 'stenos' meaning 'narrow'.

stent

Origin · 1800

Origin unclear; possibly named after the 19th-century English dentist Charles Stent, who developed a related dental material.

stentorian

Origin

From Stentor + -ian, from Ancient Greek Στέντωρ (Sténtōr). Stentor was the herald of the Greek forces in the Iliad, noted for his loud voice.

step

Old English

From Old English steppan, "to step, go, advance," related to the words "stamp" and "stomp."

Stepan

Russian

(given name) From Russian Степа́н (Stepán, “Stephen”), from Greek Στέφανος (Stéfanos). Doublet of Stephen. :(surname) From Czech Štěpán.

stepdaughter

Old English

From Old English stēopdohtor, combining "step-" (bereaved, related by remarriage) with "daughter."

stepfather

Old English

From Old English stēopfæder, combining "step-" with "father."

Stepford

Origin · 1972

From the 1972 novel and film "The Stepford Wives," in which the women of a fictional town are secretly replaced by docile, perfectly obedient robotic duplicates.

stepfordian

Origin

From Stepford + -ian.