English
flood stage
flood + stage
Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)- ‘to swim, flow’
Proto-Germanic *flōduz ‘river’
Proto-West Germanic *flōdu ‘river’
Old English flōd ‘flowing of the tide’
Middle English flod ‘a river; a waterbody that moves in one direction’
English flood
Old French ester ‘to be standing, be located’
Old French estage ‘dwelling, position’
Middle English stage ‘the topmost story of a building’
English stage
Today it means
noun The elevation at which water overflows the natural banks of a river or other body of water in a given portion of the body of water.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / flood stage