Where does “stark” come from?

stark (Middle English) comes from Old English stearc, from Proto-West Germanic stark, from Proto-Germanic starkaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)terg- — to be stiff; rigid; rigid, stiff.

Ancestry of “stark”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishstearcsevere, stern, harsh; stiff, rigid, not bending,...
2Proto-West Germanicstarkstiff, stark
3Proto-Germanicstarkaz—
4Proto-Indo-European(s)terg-to be stiff; rigid; rigid, stiff

Words derived from “stark”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)terg- →