Where does “stalemate” come from?
Stalemate comes from Middle English stale combined with mate, where stale derives from Old French estal, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-, meaning to stand or be placed.
stalemate (English): The state in which the player to move is not in...
Definitions
- The state in which the player to move is not in...
Ancestry of “stalemate”, step by step
stalemate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English maté
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | maté | An evergreen tree, Ilex paraquariensis, native to... |
| 2 | Middle English | mate | mate companion, comrade |
| 3 | Middle Low German | māte | — |
| 4 | Old Saxon | gimato | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gamatjô | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 9 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 10 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 11 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English stale
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stale | Clear, free of dregs and lees; old and strong; No... |
| 2 | Middle English | stale | theft; the act of stealing; stealth |
| 3 | Old French | estal | position, place, site; stall, stable |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | stal | standing; market stall; stable |
| 5 | Old Dutch | stāl | — |
| 6 | Old Dutch | stahal | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | stahlą | steel |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | stah- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | stāk- | stand, pole |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | stā- | to stand, place |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |