English
stamp
Stamp comes from Middle English stampen ‘to pound, crush’, from Old English stempan ‘to stamp or stomp’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *stampijan.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stampijan‘to stamp’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stempan‘to stamp or stomp’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150*stampianreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stampen‘to pound, crush’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591stamp
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stampijan‘to stamp’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stempan‘to stamp or stomp’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150*stampianreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stampen‘to pound, crush’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591stamp
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Vnder my feet I stampe thy Cardinalls Hat”.
The story
Marks indicating that postage had been paid were originally made by stamping the item to be mailed; when affixed pieces of paper were introduced for this purpose, the term “stamp” was transferred to cover this new form.
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *stampijan
Today it means
noun An act of stamping the foot, paw or hoof.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *stampijan / stamp