English
stereo
Stereo comes from Ancient Greek στερεός ‘solid’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘strong’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-1‘strong’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστερεός2stereós‘solid’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001stereo2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στερεός
- 2 Wiktionary, English stereo
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Oliver Sacks: “One could easily do this with stereo photographs, but…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στερεός‘strong’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστερεόςWiktionary, English stereostereós‘solid’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001stereoWiktionary, English stereo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Oliver Sacks: “One could easily do this with stereo photographs, but…”
The story
A shortened form of stereotype, stereoscope or stereophonic, all originally derived, via stereo-, from Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘strong’
still, start, street, strength, strongly, stronger, strongest, straw, throttle, torpedo, stare, starve, stern, sterile, strenuous, sterility, 17 more
through Ancient Greek στερεός ‘solid’
Today it means
noun A system of recording or reproducing sound that uses two or more channels, each playing a portion of the original sound at different locations in order to simulate the separation of sources along at least one spatial dimension.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “stereo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek στερεός. 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- / stereo