Etymograph

English

station

Station comes from Middle English stacioun ‘station, position’, from Latin statiō ‘standing, post, job, position’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatiō1‘standing’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatiōnem1accusative of statiō
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400estation1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stacioun1‘station, position’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1513station1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English station
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1513, Henry Bradshaw: “So dyd Offa[…]Deuoutly to vysyte all the hole stacyons…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, English station‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatiōWiktionary, English station‘standing’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatiōnemWiktionary, English stationaccusative of statiō
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400estationWiktionary, English station
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500staciounWiktionary, English station‘station, position’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1513stationWiktionary, English station. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1513, Henry Bradshaw: “So dyd Offa[…]Deuoutly to vysyte all the hole stacyons…”

Linked words

through Latin stō

rest, stage, distance, instance, instant, substance, distant, extant, distal, oust, obstetric, 25 more

Today it means

noun A regular stopping place for ground transportation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “station”. 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 *steh₂- / station

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