Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “stunk” come from?

stunk (English) comes from German Stank, from German stinken, from Middle High German stinken, from Old High German stinkan, from Proto-West Germanic *stinkwan, from Proto-Germanic stinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European stengʷ- — to push.

stunk (English): simple past tense and past participle of stink

Definitions

  1. simple past tense and past participle of stink

Ancestry of “stunk”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanStank—
2Germanstinkento stink
3Middle High Germanstinken—
4Old High Germanstinkan—
5Proto-West Germanic*stinkwan—
6Proto-Germanicstinkwanąto hit; thrust; clash; to emit a smell; stink
7Proto-Indo-Europeanstengʷ-to push
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stengʷ- →