English
stealth
Stealth comes from Proto-Germanic *stelaną ‘to steal, to sneak’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *tsel-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tsel-‘to sneak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stelaną‘to steal, to sneak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stēliþōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stǣlþ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stelthe
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604stealth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tsel-‘to sneak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stelaną‘to steal, to sneak’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stēliþōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stǣlþ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stelthe
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604stealth
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Claudio.[...] But it chances The stealth of our most…”
Formed from steal + -th
Proto-Germanic *stelaną ‘to steal’
Proto-West Germanic *stelan ‘to steal’
Old English stelan ‘to steal’
Middle English stelen ‘to steal’
English steal
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *stelaną ‘to steal, to sneak’
Today it means
noun The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tsel- / stealth