English
still
Still comes from Middle English stille ‘motionless, stationary’, from Old English stille ‘still, quiet’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)telH-‘to be silent’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stillīreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stille‘still’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘motionless’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593still
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)telH-‘to be silent’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stillīreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stille‘still’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘motionless’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593still
Earliest quotation: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “By still practice learn to know thy meaning.”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH-
Another origin of still
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-‘stiff’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstīria‘frozen drop, icicle’uncertain
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEstilla‘a drop of a dense, viscous liquid or other non-natural substance’
- Englishtodaystill
Another origin of still
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)telH-‘to be silent’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stillī‘still, quiet’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*stillijan‘to make still, quiet’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stillan‘become calm, abate, subside’
- Englishtodaystill
Another origin of still
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-‘stiff’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstīria‘frozen drop, icicle’uncertain
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEstīlla‘a drop’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEstillōas stillare‘to drip, drop, trickle’
- Englishtodaystill
Today it means
adj Not moving; calm.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- / still