English
stop
Stop comes from Middle English stoppen ‘to stop’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōn‘to stop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppian‘to stop’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppen‘to stop’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595stop
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōn‘to stop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppian‘to stop’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppen‘to stop’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595stop
Earliest quotation: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “A fatal stop trauerst their headlong course”.
The story
Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (‘to stop up with tow’), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (‘tow, flax, oakum’), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow".uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, to stick’
type, typical, steep, stubborn, stub, timbre, stupendous, timpani, tympanum, 18 more
through Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn ‘to stop, halt’
Another origin of stop
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teub-‘to push, hit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stuppô‘vat, vessel’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppa‘bucket, pail, a stop’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppe
- Englishtodaystop
Today it means
verb To cease moving.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn / stop