English

stopblock

From stop + block.

Formed from stop + block

Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn ‘to stop’

Old English stoppian ‘to stop’

Middle English stoppen ‘to stop’

English stop

Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- ‘thick plank’

…

Old Dutch *blok ‘log’

Middle Dutch blok ‘treetrunk’

Old French bloc ‘log’

Middle English blok ‘log’

English block

Today it means

noun An obstruction placed at the end of a railway track to prevent rail vehicles from going any further.

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

Etymograph / stopblock