English
storm
Storm comes from Middle English storm, from Old English storm ‘tempest’, from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz, from *staurijaną ‘to destroy, disturb’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*staurijaną‘to destroy, disturb’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sturmaz‘storm’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sturm‘storm’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150storm‘tempest, storm’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500storm
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592storm
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*staurijaną‘to destroy, disturb’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sturmaz‘storm’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sturm‘storm’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150storm‘tempest, storm’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500storm
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592storm
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Savv you no more? Mark'd you not hovv hir…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- ‘to agitate, stir up’
trouble, stir, turbulent, disturb, 5 more
through Proto-Germanic *sturmaz
Another origin of storm
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stormen‘of the wind: to blow violently’
- Englishtodaystorm
The verb is derived from Middle English stormen (‘of the wind: to blow violently; to cause to roll or toss’), from storm (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs). The noun is derived from verb etymology 2, verb sense 2.3 (‘to violently assault (a fortified position or stronghold, a building, etc.) with the aim of gaining control of it’).
Today it means
noun Any disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather, especially one affecting the earth's surface involving strong winds (leading to high waves at sea) and usually lightning, thunder, and precipitation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *staurijaną / storm