English
steady
Steady comes from Middle English stedy.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stedy
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587steady
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stedy
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587steady
Earliest quotation: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful,…”
Formed from stead + -y
Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’
…
Proto-Germanic *stadiz ‘place’
Proto-West Germanic *stadi
Old English stede ‘place’
Middle English sted
English stead
The story
Adjective sense 8 is a semantic loan from Singapore Hokkien 在 (chāi, “confident, skilled”, literally “steady”).
Every English word from Middle English stedy
Today it means
adj Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English stedy / steady