English
stubble
Stubble comes from Anglo-Norman stuble, from Latin stipula ‘stalk, straw’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steyp- ‘be stiff, erect’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steyp-‘be stiff, erect’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stips‘stalk’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*stipelā‘straw’reconstructeddiminutive form of *stips
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstipula‘stalk, straw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estoble
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400stuble
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1536stubble
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steyp-‘be stiff, erect’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stips‘stalk’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*stipelā‘straw’reconstructeddiminutive form of *stips
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstipula‘stalk, straw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estoble
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400stuble
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1536stubble
Earliest quotation: 1536, [The Eyght Commandement] Cap[ut] VII: “Lord (ſayth he) Put them as a wheele and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *steyp- ‘be stiff, erect’
through Proto-Italic *stipelā ‘straw’
Today it means
noun Short, coarse hair, especially on a man’s face.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steyp- / stubble