Etymograph

English

stop

Stop comes from Middle English stoppen ‘to stop’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōn1‘to stop’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppian1‘to stop’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppen1‘to stop’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1595stop1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stop
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “A fatal stop trauerst their headlong course”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōnWiktionary, English stop‘to stop’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppianWiktionary, English stop‘to stop’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppenWiktionary, English stop‘to stop’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1595stopWiktionary, English stop. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “A fatal stop trauerst their headlong course”

The story

Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (‘to stop up with tow’), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (‘tow, flax, oakum’), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow".uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, to stick’

type, typical, steep, stubborn, stub, timbre, stupendous, timpani, tympanum, 18 more

through Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn ‘to stop, halt’

stuff, 3 more

Another origin of stop

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teub-‘to push, hit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stuppô‘vat, vessel’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150stoppa‘bucket, pail, a stop’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stoppe
  5. Englishtodaystop

Today it means

verb To cease moving.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stop”. 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-West Germanic *stoppōn / stop

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