Etymograph

English

stake

Stake comes from Middle English stake ‘a stake’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *stog-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stog-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stakô1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stakō1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150staca1‘pin, tack, stake’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stake1‘a stake’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1709stake1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stake
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1709, Alexander Pope, Pastorals. Spring. The First Pastoral, or Damon. […]: “I'll ſtake my Lamb that near the Fountain plays,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stog-Wiktionary, English stakereconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stakôWiktionary, English stakereconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stakōWiktionary, English stakereconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150stacaWiktionary, English stake‘pin, tack, stake’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stakeWiktionary, English stake‘a stake’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1709stakeWiktionary, English stake. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1709, Alexander Pope, Pastorals. Spring. The First Pastoral, or Damon. […]: “I'll ſtake my Lamb that near the Fountain plays,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *stakô

attachment, attach, detachment

Today it means

noun A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stake”. 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 *stog- / stake

Shirt and support for this word