Etymograph

English

stand up

Stand up comes from Middle English standen up, and goes back to Old English standan up.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150standan up1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500standen up1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1909stand up1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stand up
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1909, Archibald Marshall pseudonym; Arthur Ham, London: Methuen & Co. […]: “He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150standan upWiktionary, English stand up
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500standen upWiktionary, English stand up
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1909stand upWiktionary, English stand up. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1909, Archibald Marshall pseudonym; Arthur Ham, London: Methuen & Co. […]: “He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from…”

Today it means

verb To rise from a lying or sitting position.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stand up”. 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 / Old English standan up / stand up