Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “stuff” come from?

Stuff derives from Middle English stuffen, from Old French estoffer, from Frankish stopfōn, from Proto-Germanic stuppōną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European stemb-.

stuff (English): Miscellaneous items or objects; personal...

Definitions

  1. Miscellaneous items or objects; personal...

Ancestry of “stuff”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Romanianstufreed; thatch
2Old Frisianstīf—
3Proto-Germanicstīfazstiff, rigid
4Proto-Indo-Europeansteypós—

Words derived from “stuff”

  • foodstuff
  • dyestuff
  • stuffer
  • breadstuff
  • feedstuff
  • sweetstuff
  • greenstuff
  • overstuff
  • restuff
  • feedingstuff
  • unstuff
  • stuffless
  • stuffie
  • starstuff
  • veinstuff
  • stuffeth
  • stuffable
  • stuffest
  • plantstuff
  • waterstuff
  • she-stuff
  • ladystuff
  • unstuffable
  • fanstuff
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steypós →