Where does “haystack” come from?
Haystack comes from Middle English haystak, a compound of hay and stak meaning a pile for storing dried grass.
haystack (English): A mound, pile, or stack of stored hay; A standing...
Definitions
- A mound, pile, or stack of stored hay; A standing...
Ancestry of “haystack”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | stack | "A pile."; A smokestack; "In computing." |
| 2 | Dutch | stapel | pile; basis, foundation, pedestal; stockpile,... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | stapel | pillar; foundation; market; warehouse; market |
| 4 | Old Dutch | stapal | — |
| 5 | Old Swedish | stapul | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | stapulaz | pillar, post; basis, foundation |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | stebʰ‑ | — |