Where does “stage left” come from?
stage left (English) comes from English stage, from French stage, from Old French estation, from Latin statiō, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
stage left (English): The area to the left of the stage when looking...
Definitions
- The area to the left of the stage when looking...
Ancestry of “stage left”, step by step
stage left traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English stage
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stage | A phase; A platform; a surface, generally... |
| 2 | French | stage | internship, job that a trainee is doing in a... |
| 3 | Old French | estation | garrison; pause; break; visit to a church for... |
| 4 | Latin | statiō | outpost, picket |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English left
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | left | The opposite of right; toward the west when one... |
| 2 | Middle English | left | — |
| 3 | Middle English | laft | past participle of leave |
| 4 | Old English | læfd | — |
| 5 | Old English | lǣfan | to leave |
| 6 | Frankish | laibijan | to leave; to leave behind |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | laibijaną | to leave behind, to leave remaining |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | lībaną | to remain, to be left |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leyp- | to stick; fat or sticky substance |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | lēy- | to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave... |