Etymograph

English

arrest

Arrest comes from Middle English arest, from Old French areste, from Vulgar Latin *arrestō ‘to stop’, from Latin restō, from stō ‘to stand’, from PIE *steh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstō1‘to stand’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErestō1‘to stop’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*arrestō1‘to stop’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400areste1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arest1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1538arrest1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English arrest
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1538, John Leland: “A white Starre[…]whiche to every mans sighte did lighte…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, English arrest‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstōWiktionary, English arrest‘to stand’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErestōWiktionary, English arrest‘to stop’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*arrestōWiktionary, English arrest‘to stop’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aresteWiktionary, English arrest
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arestWiktionary, English arrest
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1538arrestWiktionary, English arrest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1538, John Leland: “A white Starre[…]whiche to every mans sighte did lighte…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’

state, system, post, stay, stand, assistant, assistance, stadium, constitution, consistent, stood, stable, assist, contest, stem, destination, static, testimony, insist, destiny, persistent, consist, prostitution, resist, stud, prostitute, persist, stool, substitution, stamina, stale, subsistence, steadfast, stead, solstice, astute, armistice, attest, stow, stasis, 139 more

through Proto-Italic *staējō

instability, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *staēō

establishment, stability, establish, stationary, instantaneous, distantly, instantiation, 14 more

through Latin stō ‘to stand’

stage, station, distance, instance, instant, substance, distant, extant, distal, oust, obstetric, prest, 23 more

through Latin restō ‘to stop, remain behind, stay back’

restive, 2 more

through Old French areste ‘fishbone’

arris

Today it means

noun A check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “arrest”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / arrest

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