Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nonstaff” come from?

nonstaff (English) comes from English staff, from Middle English staf, from Old English stæf, from Proto-West Germanic stab, from Proto-Germanic stabaz, from Proto-Indo-European stebʰ- — to stand still; to harden.

nonstaff (English): Not staff

Definitions

  1. Not staff

Ancestry of “nonstaff”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstaffA long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick,...
2Middle EnglishstafA staff, rod or pole; a relatively long, narrow,...
3Old Englishstæfstaff; letter, written character
4Proto-West Germanicstabstaff; letter
5Proto-Germanicstabazstaff, stick
6Proto-Indo-Europeanstebʰ-to stand still; to harden
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stebʰ- →