Etymograph

English

stomacher

Stomacher comes from Middle English stomakere ‘a waistcoat or vest’, from stomak ‘One's emotional or sexual drive’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₃mn̥ ‘mouth’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₃mn̥1‘mouth’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμα2stóma‘mouth’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαχος3‘throat, gullet’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstomachus3‘gullet, alimentary canal’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estomac3‘stomach’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomak4‘One's emotional or sexual drive’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomakere5‘a waistcoat or vest’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611stomacher5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμα, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμαχος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English stomak
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Middle English stomakere
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English stomacher
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And it shall come to pass, that instead of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₃mn̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμα, which cites Beekes‘mouth’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαWiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμαχοςstóma‘mouth’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαχοςWiktionary, Middle English stomak‘throat, gullet’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstomachusWiktionary, Middle English stomak‘gullet, alimentary canal’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estomacWiktionary, Middle English stomak‘stomach’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomakWiktionary, Middle English stomakere‘One's emotional or sexual drive’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomakereWiktionary, English stomacher‘a waistcoat or vest’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611stomacherWiktionary, English stomacher. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And it shall come to pass, that instead of…”

Formed from stomach + -er

Ancient Greek στόμα ‘mouth’

Ancient Greek στόμαχος ‘throat; stomach’

Latin stomachus ‘gullet’

Old French estomac

Middle English stomak ‘stomach’

English stomach

The story

Inherited from Middle English stomakere, stomachere, perhaps after Anglo-Norman *estomachier.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₃mn̥

Today it means

noun A type of men's waistcoat.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stomacher”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek στόμα, Ancient Greek στόμαχος, Middle English stomak, Middle English stomakere. 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 *stéh₃mn̥ / stomacher

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