Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “stertlen” come from?

stertlen (Middle English) comes from Old English steartlian — to kick or struggle; to caper; to react with fear.

Ancestry of “stertlen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsteartlianto kick or struggle; to caper; to react with fear

Words derived from “stertlen”

  • startling
  • startle
  • startlingly
  • startlement
  • startler
  • unstartling
  • startlish
  • upstartle
Every word from Old English steartlian →