Where does “stolen” come from?
Stolen comes from Middle English stolen, from Old English ġestolen, from Proto-Germanic stulanaz and stelaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tsel-.
stolen (English): past participle of steal; That has been stolen
Definitions
- past participle of steal; That has been stolen
Ancestry of “stolen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | stolen | — |
| 2 | Old English | stolen | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | stulanaz | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | stelaną | to steal; to sneak |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tsel- | to sneak |
Words derived from “stolen”