Where does “skammstafa” come from?

skammstafa (Icelandic) comes from Icelandic stafa, from Old Norse stafa, from Old Norse stafr, from Proto-Norse ᛋᛏᚼᛒᚼ, from Proto-Germanic stabaz, from Proto-Indo-European stebʰ- — to stand still; to harden.

skammstafa (Icelandic): abbreviate

Definitions

  1. abbreviate

Ancestry of “skammstafa”, step by step

skammstafa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Icelandic stafa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandicstafato spell
2Old Norsestafa—
3Old Norsestafrstaff
4Proto-Norseᛋᛏᚼᛒᚼ—
5Proto-Germanicstabazstaff, stick
6Proto-Indo-Europeanstebʰ-to stand still; to harden

via Icelandic skammur

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandicskammurshort
2Old Norseskamr—
3Proto-Germanicskammazshort; blunt; stunted
4Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱem-mutilated, hornless; to cover, hide, conceal

Words derived from “skammstafa”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European stebʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic stabaz →Every word from Proto-Norse ᛋᛏᚼᛒᚼ →