"S" Word Origins

stubbornness

Origin

From stubborn + the noun-forming suffix -ness.

stubby

Origin

From stub + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

stucco

Origin

Borrowed from Italian stucco (“coating made of pulverised gypsum, plaster, stucco”) from Old Italian stucco, from Lombardic stucki, *stucchi (“crust, fragment, piece”) from Proto-Germanic *stukkiją (“stump, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewg- (“to shock, butt, impact”). Akin to German Stück (“piece”), Old Saxon stukki (“piece, fragment”) and Old English stycce. Related to stock.

stuck

Origin

Compare stoccado.

Stuckey

Old English

Habitational surname from the village of Stiffkey, in Norfolk, from Old English *styfic (“clearing in a wood”) + īeġ (“island”).

stud

Old English

From Old English stod, related to Old Norse stod — originally referring to a herd of horses kept for breeding.

studded

Origin

From stud + -ed.

Studebaker

German

From the German surname Stutenbecker, later anglicized to Studebaker; the company was founded by the Studebaker family.

student

Latin

From Old French estudiant, from Latin studens ("one who applies oneself"), the present participle of studere, "to study."

studio

Latin

From Italian studio, meaning "room for study," ultimately from Latin studium.

studious

Latin

From Latin studiosus, related to studium ("zeal, devotion to study").

study

Latin

From Old French estudier, ultimately from Latin studium, meaning "eagerness" or "application to learning."

stuff

Old French

From Old French estoffe, related to a Germanic root meaning "to fill" or "to plug up" — the same root behind stop.

stuffed

Origin

From stuff + the past-tense/adjective suffix -ed.

stuffer

Origin

From stuff + -er.

stuffing

Origin

From stuff + the noun-forming suffix -ing.

stuffy

Origin

From stuff + the adjective-forming suffix -y, originally describing a room that felt "stuffed up" with stale air.

stultify

Origin

From Latin stultus (“stupid, foolish”), + -ify. Compare Late Latin stultificō.

stumble

Proto-Germanic

From a Proto-Germanic root related to "tripping" or "stammering," making it a distant relative of the word stammer.

stumblebum

Origin

From stumble + bum.

stump

Middle English

From Middle English stumpe, related to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch words for a cut-off remnant — ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "blunt" or "part cut off."

stumper

Origin

From stump + -er.

stumpy

Origin

From stump + -y.

stun

Latin

From Middle English stonen ("to astonish, numb"), likely via Anglo-Norman estoner, from a Latin root meaning "to thunder" — the same family as astonish and astound.

stunned

Origin

From stun + -ed.

stunning

Middle English

From Middle English stunnyng, stunnynge, stounyng, equivalent to stun + -ing.

stunt

Middle English

Origin uncertain; possibly related to an old Middle English word meaning "foolish" or a Middle Low German term for a wrestling throw.

stunting

Origin

See stunt.

stupe

Origin

Shortening of stupid.

stupefaction

Origin

From Middle French stupéfaction, from Latin stupefaciō (“strike dumb, stun with amazement, stupefy”), from stupeō (“to be stunned, speechless”) (English stupid, stupor) + faciō (“to do, make”).

stupefy

Origin

From Middle French stupéfier, from Latin stupefaciō (“strike dumb, stun with amazement, stupefy”), from stupeō (“to be stunned, speechless”) (see English stupid, stupor) + faciō (“to do, make”).

stupendous

Late Latin · 1547

First recorded in English in 1547, from Late Latin stupendus ("amazing"), from the verb stupeo, "I am stunned" — the same root that gives us stupor and stupid.

stupid

Latin

From Middle French stupide, from Latin stupidus ("struck senseless"), from stupeo ("to be dazed"). Related to stupor and stupendous.

stupidicy

Origin

From stupid + -i- + -cy.

stupidity

Latin

From Latin stupiditas, built from stupidus ("stupid") plus the noun-forming suffix -itas.

stupor

Latin

From Latin stupor ("numbness, insensibility"), distantly related to stupid and stupendous.

sturdy

Latin · 1300

From Middle English sturdy ("bold, fierce, strong"), from Old French estourdi ("dazed"), ultimately from a Latin root — the "physically strong" sense developed later, in the 14th century.

sturgeon

Old French

From Old French estorjoun, from a Frankish word for the fish — ultimately Germanic in origin.

Sturgis

Origin

From the Old Norse personal name Þorgils, composed of the elements Þórr (“Thor”) + gils (“hostage, pledge”). The initial s- is not explained.

Sturm

German

Borrowed from German Sturm.

stutter

Middle English

From Middle English stutten, stoten ("to stutter"), related to Dutch stotteren.

Stuttgart

German

From German Stuttgart, ultimately from Old High German stuotgarten, meaning "stud farm" (from stuot, "stud," and garten, "garden").

Stuyvesant

Dutch

From Dutch Stuyvesant.

sty

Old English

From Old English stig, meaning an enclosure or pen (originally used for animals in general, later specifically pigs).

stye

Origin

First recorded in the 17th century; probably a back-formation from Middle English styanye (first recorded in the 15th century), which in turn comes from Old English stīgend (“a small tumour on the edge of the eyelid, stye”), from the verb stīgan (“to climb, ascend, rise”) + Middle English eie (“eye”). Equivalent to sty + eye.

stygian

Origin

From Latin stygius + -ian, from Ancient Greek Στύγιος (Stúgios, “relating to Styx”), from Στύξ (Stúx, “Styx, chief river of underworld”).

style

Latin

From Latin stilus, originally a pointed writing tool used on wax tablets; the sense shifted from the physical instrument to a "manner of writing" and eventually to any distinctive manner of doing something.

styler

Origin

From style + -er.