"S" Word Origins

stoner

Origin

From stone (in the drug sense of being "stoned") plus the agent suffix -er.

stonewall

Origin

From stone plus wall — the image of hitting an immovable barrier, as solid and unyielding as a wall built of stone.

stonework

Origin

From Middle English stonewerk, stonwerk, ston-werke, stoonwerk, from Old English stānweorc; equivalent to stone + -work.

Stoney

Origin

The name is said to come from early settlers' observation that the community used heated stones for cooking.

Stony

Origin

From stone plus the adjective suffix -y.

stonyhearted

Origin

From stony + hearted.

stooge

Russian

Origin uncertain — possibly from Russian студент (studént, "student"), which once meant a stage assistant to a comedian; it may have come into English via Yiddish theatre slang.

stook

Origin

From Middle English stowk, stouke, stouc, from or cognate with Middle Low German stûke (“bundle of grain”), from Middle Low German stûken (“to push, bump, compress”), from Old Saxon *stūkan, from Proto-Germanic *stūkaną (“to be stiff, push”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewg- (“to pound, push, beat”). The modern vocalism is of Northern dialectal origin (for expected stuck; compare duck, puck, and suck). Cognate with West Frisian stûkje (“to pile up, stop”), Dutch stuiken (“to bundle, stamp”), German stauchen (“to compress”), Swedish stuka (“to rick, wrench, upset”), Norwegian Nynorsk stauka (“to whack, chop”).

stool

Old English

From Old English stōl ("chair, seat"), an ancient Germanic word also behind German Stuhl and Dutch stoel; ultimately from a root meaning "to stand".

stoop

Old English

From Old English stūpian ("to bow, bend"), a Germanic word related to Dutch stuipen and Old Norse stúpa, both meaning to bend forward.

stooshie

Origin

Probably from Scots stooshie, possibly a contraction of English ecstasy. Perhaps related to English stoush.

stop

Old English

From Old English stoppian ("to stop, close up"), a very old Germanic word related to Dutch stoppen and German stopfen, ultimately from a root meaning to push or plug something.

stopcock

Origin

From stop + cock.

stopgap

Origin

The noun is derived from stop (“to close or block (an opening)”) + gap, from the phrase to stop a gap. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, and the verb is derived from the noun.

stoplight

Origin

From stop plus light.

stopover

Origin

Formed from the phrase to stop over, made into a single noun.

stopped

Origin

From stop + -ed. In some senses, the adjective follows from the verb; in others, it may derive directly from the noun stop.

stopper

Origin

From stop plus the agent suffix -er.

stopple

Origin

From Middle English stopple, stoppel, stoppell, from Old French estopail, estopaille. By surface analysis, stop + -le.

stopwatch

Origin

From stop plus watch.

storage

Origin

From store plus the noun suffix -age.

store

Latin

From Old French estore/estor, ultimately from Latin instaurare, meaning "to renew" or "to set up".

storefront

Origin

From store plus front.

storehouse

Origin

From store plus house.

storekeeper

Origin

From store plus keeper.

storeroom

Origin

From store plus room.

storey

Latin

From Middle English story, ultimately from Latin historia ("narrative"), possibly because medieval buildings often had picture-friezes telling a story on each level. It's a doublet of both story and history.

storied

Origin

From story + -ed.

stork

Old English

From Old English storc, an old Germanic word shared with Dutch stork and German Storch.

storksbill

Origin

From stork + -s- + bill, calque of translingual Pelargonium. Compare cranesbill, which is calqued from Geranium.

storm

Old English

From Old English storm, an ancient Germanic word related to Dutch storm and German Sturm.

Storms

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch and German Storms.

stormy

Old English

From Old English *stormiġ, from storm plus the adjective suffix -y.

story

Ancient Greek

From Anglo-Norman estorie, from Latin historia ("account, narrative"), from Ancient Greek historíā, meaning "learning through inquiry". A doublet of history and storey.

storybook

Origin

From story plus book.

storyland

Origin

From story + -land.

storyline

Origin

From story plus line.

storyteller

Origin

From story plus teller.

storytelling

Origin

From story plus telling.

stoss

Origin

Borrowed from German stoss-, from stossen (“to push”). Further from Proto-Germanic *stautaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- (extended from *(s)tew-).

stound

Origin

From Middle English stond, stounde, stound (“hour, time, season, moment”), from Old English stund (“a period of time, while, hour, occasion”), from Proto-West Germanic *stundu, from Proto-Germanic *stundō (“point in time, hour”), from Proto-Indo-European *stut- (“prop”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”). Cognate with Scots stound (“while, period of time, moment, sudden pain, pang, stroke, blow”), dated Dutch stond (“hour, time, moment”), Low German Stund (“hour”), German Stunde (“hour”), Danish stund (“time, while”), and Swedish stund (“time, while”). Compare Middle English stunden (“to linger, stay, remain for a while”), Icelandic stunda (“to frequent, pursue”). Related to stand.

stour

Origin

From Middle English store, stoor, stour (“tall, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“tall, great, mighty, strong”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōr, from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stā-r-, *stō-r- (“steadfast, firm; standing tall; big, bulky”). Cognates Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Saterland Frisian stor (“great, many”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stórr (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”), Albanian stër- (“big, huge”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.

stout

Old French · 1804

From Old French estout ("brave, proud"), from Frankish stolt, ultimately from a root meaning "bold, proud". The original sense was about courage; the meaning shifted to "thickset, fat" as a politer way of describing size, from around 1804.

stouthearted

Origin

From stout + hearted.

stove

Germanic

From Middle Dutch/Middle Low German stove, from a very old Germanic word for a heated room; it's related to German Stube ("room") and is the source of the word for "room" in several other languages too.

stovepipe

Origin

From stove + pipe. The firearms sense is due to the trapped cartridge case resembling a stovepipe of the stove sense.

stow

Old English

From Old English stōw ("place, location"), from a very old Germanic and Indo-European root meaning "to stand" or "to put in place".

stowable

Origin

From stow + -able.