English
stock
Stock comes from Middle English stok ‘tree trunk’, from Old English stocc, from Proto-West Germanic *stokk, from Proto-Germanic *stukkaz ‘tree-trunk’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stukkaz‘tree-trunk’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stokkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stocc‘log, trunk’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stok‘tree trunk’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588stock
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stukkaz‘tree-trunk’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stokkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stocc‘log, trunk’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stok‘tree trunk’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588stock
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “UUhat, ſhall I call thee brother? No, a foe,…”
The story
Modern senses are mostly referring either to the trunk from which the tree grows (figuratively, its origin and/or support/foundation), or to a piece of wood, stick, or rod. The senses of "supply" and "raw material" arose from a probable conflation with steck (‘an item of goods, merchandise’) or the use of split tally sticks consisting of foil or counterfoil and stock to capture paid taxes, debts or exchanges.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’
style, tiger, stigma, stylus, instigate, tigress, stiletto, 9 more
through Proto-Germanic *stikaną ‘to stick’
attack, stick, etiquette, stitch, detach, shtick, schtick, 3 more
Another origin of stock
- Italianc. 1300–presentstoccare
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentstoccata‘hit with a sword, especially a tuck’
- Englishtodaystock
Today it means
noun A store or supply.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *stukkaz / stock