English
Stella
Stella comes from Latin stēlla ‘star’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stērlā‘star’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstēlla‘star’
- Englishearliest quotation 1933Stella
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr‘star’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stērlā‘star’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstēlla‘star’
- Englishearliest quotation 1933Stella
Earliest quotation: 1933, Eleanor Farjeon, Girls' Names: “What lovely names for girls there are! / There's…”
The story
Noun sense 2 is after the protagonist of How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’
star, disaster, sterling, asteroid, astral, asterisk, aster, 25 more
through Latin stēlla ‘star’
Today it means
name A female given name from Latin.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr / Stella