Where does “upsteal” come from?

upsteal (English) comes from English steal, from Middle English stele, from Old English stela, from Proto-Germanic stelaną, from Proto-Indo-European tsel- — to sneak.

upsteal (English): To steal or creep upward

Definitions

  1. To steal or creep upward

Ancestry of “upsteal”, step by step

upsteal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English steal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstealTo take illegally, or without the owner's...
2Middle Englishstelesteel
3Old Englishstelastalk (of a plant)
4Proto-Germanicstelanąto steal; to sneak
5Proto-Indo-Europeantsel-to sneak

via English up

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishupAway from the surface of the Earth or other...
2Middle Englishupto a vertical axis
3Old Englishuppup; upstairs
4Proto-West Germanic*upp—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tsel- →Every word from Proto-Germanic stelaną →Every word from Old English stela →