Etymograph

English

stink

Stink comes from Old English stincan ‘to stink’, from Proto-Germanic *stinkwaną ‘to emit a smell’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- ‘to push’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stengʷ-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stinkwaną‘to emit a smell’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150stincan‘to stink’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stinken
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1902stink

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stengʷ-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stinkwaną‘to emit a smell’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150stincan‘to stink’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stinken
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1902stink

Earliest quotation: 1902, John Buchan: “The parish stank of idolatry, abominable rites were practiced…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- ‘to push’

distinction, extinction, extinct, instinct, stench, 6 more

Today it means

verb To have a strong bad smell.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- / stink

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