Where does “Totenstarre” come from?
Totenstarre (German) comes from Middle English starre, from Old Norse stǫrr, from Proto-Indo-European sterh₁- — to streak, to strip; stiff; to be stiff.
Ancestry of “Totenstarre”, step by step
Totenstarre traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English starre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | starre | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | stǫrr | a sedge |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | sterh₁- | to streak, to strip; stiff; to be stiff |
via German Tote
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Tote | cadaver; corpse; strong nominative plural of... |