English
stony
Stony comes from Middle English stony ‘Comprised of or made from stone or rock’, from Old English stāniġ ‘stony, rocky’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- ‘to stiffen’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steyh₂-‘to stiffen’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stainaz‘stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stainagazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stainagreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stāniġ‘stony, rocky’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stony‘Comprised of or made from stone or rock’
- Englishearliest quotation 1817same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steyh₂-‘to stiffen’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stainaz‘stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stainagazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stainagreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stāniġ‘stony, rocky’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stony‘Comprised of or made from stone or rock’
- Englishearliest quotation 1817same form
Earliest quotation: 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam. […]: “o’er the heaps of dead, / Whose stony eyes…”
Formed from stone + -y
Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- ‘to stiffen’
…
Proto-Germanic *stainaz
Proto-West Germanic *stain
Old English stān
Middle English ston ‘a stone’
English stone
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *stainaz ‘stone’
Today it means
adj As hard as stone.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- / stony