A compound of start + box
Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan ‘to fall down, tumble’
Old English styrtan ‘to leap up, start’
Middle English sterten ‘to leap up suddenly, rush out’
English start
Late Latin buxis ‘box’
Proto-West Germanic *buhsā ‘box’
Old English box ‘box, case’
Middle English box ‘container’
English box
Today it means
noun The compartment of a maze etc. into which the animal subject in a psychology experiment is initially placed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / startbox
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