Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “stinkhouse” come from?

stinkhouse (English) comes from English stink, from Middle English stynken, from Old English stincan, from Proto-West Germanic *stinkwan, from Proto-Germanic stinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European stengʷ- — to push.

stinkhouse (English): Any offensively unclean building

Definitions

  1. Any offensively unclean building

Ancestry of “stinkhouse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstinkTo have a strong bad smell; To be greatly...
2Middle EnglishstynkenTo emit a smell or stench; to stink; To be...
3Old Englishstincanto smell; to stink
4Proto-West Germanic*stinkwan—
5Proto-Germanicstinkwanąto hit; thrust; clash; to emit a smell; stink
6Proto-Indo-Europeanstengʷ-to push
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stengʷ- →