Etymograph

English

staffage

Staffage comes from German staffieren ‘to equip’, from Old French estoffer ‘to decorate, garnish’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, to stick’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)tewp-1‘to push, to stick’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stuppōną1‘to stop, close’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōn2‘to stop, halt’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050stopfōn2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estoffer3‘to decorate, garnish’
  6. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500stoffēren3
  7. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600staffēren3
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentstaffieren4‘to equip’
  9. Germanc. 1650–presentStaffage5
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1923staffage5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, which cites Barnhart
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French estoffer
  3. 3 Wiktionary, German staffieren
  4. 4 Wiktionary, German Staffage
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English staffage
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1923, Bernard Granville Baker: “Some tourists aggravate their position by hiring a guide.…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)tewp-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, which cites Barnhart‘to push, to stick’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stuppōnąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, which cites Barnhart‘to stop, close’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōnWiktionary, Old French estoffer‘to stop, halt’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050stopfōnWiktionary, Old French estoffer
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estofferWiktionary, German staffieren‘to decorate, garnish’
  6. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500stoffērenWiktionary, German staffieren
  7. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600staffērenWiktionary, German staffieren
  8. Germanc. 1650–presentstaffierenWiktionary, German Staffage‘to equip’
  9. Germanc. 1650–presentStaffageWiktionary, English staffage
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1923staffageWiktionary, English staffage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1923, Bernard Granville Baker: “Some tourists aggravate their position by hiring a guide.…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, to stick’

type, typical, steep, stubborn, stub, timbre, stupendous, timpani, tympanum, 17 more

through Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn ‘to stop, halt’

stop, 2 more

through Old French estoffer ‘to decorate, garnish’

stuff, 1 more

Today it means

noun The people and animals represented in a landscape painting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “staffage”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, Old French estoffer, German staffieren, German Staffage. 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 *(s)tewp- / staffage

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