Etymograph

English

install

Install comes from Medieval Latin īnstallō ‘to install, put in place, establish’, from stallum ‘stall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stel- ‘to put, to place’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stel-1‘to put, to place’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stallaz1‘place, position’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*stall1‘stall, position, place’reconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500stallum1‘stall’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnstallō1‘to install, put in place, establish’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400installer1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500installen1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1861install1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English install
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley: “My husband rented a small, comfortable house, and I…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stel-Wiktionary, English install‘to put, to place’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stallazWiktionary, English install‘place, position’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*stallWiktionary, English install‘stall, position, place’reconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500stallumWiktionary, English install‘stall’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnstallōWiktionary, English install‘to install, put in place, establish’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400installerWiktionary, English install
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500installenWiktionary, English install
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1861installWiktionary, English install. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley: “My husband rented a small, comfortable house, and I…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *stel- ‘to put, to place’

local, location, allow, stole, locate, lieu, stool, apostle, locus, stalk, 40 more

through Proto-Germanic *stallaz ‘place, position’

stale, 2 more

Today it means

verb To connect, set up or prepare something for use

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “install”. 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 *stel- / install

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