Etymograph

English

staple

Staple comes from Late Latin stapula, from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz ‘post’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stebʰ-1‘post, stem’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stapulaz1‘post’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*stapul1reconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEstapula1
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400estaple1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500staple1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667staple1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English staple
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders: “To ruin with worse ware our staple trade”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stebʰ-Wiktionary, English staple‘post, stem’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stapulazWiktionary, English staple‘post’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*stapulWiktionary, English staplereconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEstapulaWiktionary, English staple
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400estapleWiktionary, English staple
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stapleWiktionary, English staple
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667stapleWiktionary, English staple. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders: “To ruin with worse ware our staple trade”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- ‘post, stem’

step, staff, steven, 5 more

Another origin of staple

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stebʰ-‘post, stem’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stapulaz‘pillar, post’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stapul‘post, pillar’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150stapol‘post, pillar’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stapel‘staple, pillar, post’
  6. Englishtodaystaple

Consider also stapes (‘stirrup’), from Latin.

Today it means

noun A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “staple”. 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 *stebʰ- / staple

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