Where does “steel” come from?
I need to flag an issue with this chain before writing the sentence: the etymology provided doesn't actually support "steel" (the metal alloy). The chain shows "Bastille" → "stēle" (Old English) → "stilus" (Latin, a writing instrument or stake) → "steyg-" (PIE, meaning to pierce or stick). This traces a word meaning "stake/pointed object," not the metal steel. Steel (the iron alloy) has a different etymology entirely, typically traced through Old English *stȳle or similar forms to Proto-Germanic, ultimately related to PIE *stel- (to stand/be firm) or *stek- (to cover/thatch)—not the *steyg- chain provided. **I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary with this chain, as it does not etymologically support the headword "steel."** Could you verify
steel (English): An artificial metal produced from iron, harder...
Definitions
- An artificial metal produced from iron, harder...
Ancestry of “steel”, step by step
steel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Bastille
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Bastille | A former fortress and prison in Paris, France, the storming of which in 1789 began the French Revolution |
| 2 | French | Bastille | Bastille |
| 3 | Middle French | bastille | — |
| 4 | Old French | baastel | — |
| 5 | Occitan | bastida | — |
| 6 | Occitan | bastir | to build; to construct |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | *bastīre | — |
| 8 | Frankish | bastijan | to sew, weave; to weave, plait, sew; to plait,... |