Where does “start” come from?
start (Middle English) comes from Old English steort, from Proto-West Germanic *stert, from Proto-Germanic stertaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)terd-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ter- — strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to...
Ancestry of “start”, step by step
start traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English steort
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | steort | tail |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *stert | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | stertaz | tail |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)terd- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ter- | strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to... |
via Old English stert
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | stert | — |