Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “startfulness” come from?

startfulness (English) comes from English startful, from English Start, from English Stark, from German stark, from Middle High German stark, from Old High German stark, from Proto-Germanic starkuz, from Proto-Germanic sterkaną — rigid, stiff; to love.

startfulness (English): Tendency to start in fright; skittishness

Definitions

  1. Tendency to start in fright; skittishness

Ancestry of “startfulness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstartfulTending to start in fright; skittish
2EnglishStartA typical button for video games, originally used...
3EnglishStarkThe language spoken in the Ender's Game series,...
4Germanstarkstrong; great, brilliant, awesome
5Middle High Germanstark—
6Old High Germanstarkstrong
7Proto-Germanicstarkuzstiff; rigid; strong
8Proto-Germanicsterkanąto become stiff, stiffen
9Proto-Indo-Europeansterg-rigid, stiff; to love
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sterg- →