Where does “stink” come from?
Stink comes from Middle English stynken, from Old English stincan, from Proto-Germanic stinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European stengʷ-.
stink (English): To have a strong bad smell; To be greatly...
Definitions
- To have a strong bad smell; To be greatly...
Ancestry of “stink”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | stynken | To emit a smell or stench; to stink; To be... |
| 2 | Old English | stincan | to smell; to stink |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *stinkwan | to stink |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | stinkwaną | to hit; thrust; clash; to emit a smell; stink |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | stengʷ- | to push |
Words derived from “stink”