Where does “stun” come from?
Stun comes from Middle English stunien, from Old English stunian, from Proto-Germanic stunōną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ten- or (s)tona-, meaning to make a loud noise or resound.
stun (English): To incapacitate; especially by inducing...
Definitions
- To incapacitate; especially by inducing...
Ancestry of “stun”, step by step
stun traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English stonen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | stonen | Composed or built of stone; To throw stones; To... |
| 2 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 3 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 4 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 5 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via Old English stunian
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | stunian | to make a loud sound; crash; to strike with a... |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | stunōn | to rumble, groan; to thunder, crash, make a loud... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | stunōną | to make a loud sound; crash; to thunder, rumble;... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)tenh₂- | to crash, sound, thunder, roar, moan; thunder; to... |