English
stare
Stare comes from Middle English staren ‘to look fixedly’, from Old English starian ‘to stare’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘barren, infertile’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-1‘barren, infertile’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*starjaną1‘to be fixed, be rigid’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*starēn1‘to gaze, stare’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150starian1‘to stare’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500staren1‘to look fixedly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599stare1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English stare
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-Wiktionary, English stare‘barren, infertile’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*starjanąWiktionary, English stare‘to be fixed, be rigid’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*starēnWiktionary, English stare‘to gaze, stare’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150starianWiktionary, English stare‘to stare’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500starenWiktionary, English stare‘to look fixedly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599stareWiktionary, English stare. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘barren, infertile’
still, street, start, strength, stronger, strongly, strongest, straw, stern, cholesterol, throttle, torpedo, stereo, sterile, starve, strenuous, sterility, 17 more
Today it means
verb To look fixedly (at something).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “stare”. 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 *ster- / stare