Where does “verstarren” come from?

verstarren (Dutch) comes from Dutch star, from Middle Dutch star, from Old Dutch *star, from Proto-West Germanic *star, from Proto-Germanic staraz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)tern- — starling.

verstarren (Dutch): to become petrified

Definitions

  1. to become petrified

Ancestry of “verstarren”, step by step

verstarren traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch star

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchstarstiff, frozen; rigid
2Middle Dutchstar
3Old Dutch*star
4Proto-West Germanic*starstiff
5Proto-Germanicstarazstiff
6Proto-Indo-European(s)tern-starling

via Dutch ver- -en

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchver- -enForms factitive or ergative verbs from adjectives, meaning "to make more (adjective)" or "to become (adjective)"
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)tern-Every word from Proto-Germanic starazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *star