Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sticks” come from?

Stick comes from Middle English stikke, Old English sticca, Proto-Germanic stikkô, and Proto-Indo-European stig-, a root meaning to pierce or point.

sticks (English): plural of stick; API pl; rural terrain,...

Definitions

  1. plural of stick; API pl; rural terrain,...

Ancestry of “sticks”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstickAn elongated piece of wood or similar material,...
2Middle Englishstikketwig, branch; kindling, twigs used as a...
3Old Englishsticcastick
4Proto-West Germanic*stikkō—

Words derived from “sticks”

  • sticksman
  • cleversticks
  • chainsticks
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *stikkō →