English
hitstop
From hit + stop.
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- ‘to cut, hew’
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂id-néh₂-ti
Proto-Germanic *hittijaną ‘to encounter’
Old Norse hitta ‘to hit upon, meet’
Old English hyttan
Middle English hitten ‘to strike’
English hit
Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, to stick’
Proto-Germanic *stuppōną ‘to stop, close’
Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn ‘to stop, halt’
Old English stoppian ‘to stop’
Middle English stoppen ‘to stop’
English stop
Today it means
noun The technique of briefly pausing an animation when one character strikes another, typically done to make the hit feel more impactful.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / hitstop