Etymograph

English

storm

Storm comes from Middle English storm, from Old English storm ‘tempest’, from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz, from *staurijaną ‘to destroy, disturb’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*staurijaną1‘to destroy, disturb’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sturmaz1‘storm’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sturm1‘storm’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150storm1‘tempest, storm’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500storm1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592storm1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English storm
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Savv you no more? Mark'd you not hovv hir…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*staurijanąWiktionary, English storm‘to destroy, disturb’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sturmazWiktionary, English storm‘storm’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sturmWiktionary, English storm‘storm’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150stormWiktionary, English storm‘tempest, storm’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stormWiktionary, English storm
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592stormWiktionary, English storm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Savv you no more? Mark'd you not hovv hir…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- ‘to agitate, stir up’

trouble, stir, turbulent, disturb, 5 more

through Proto-Germanic *sturmaz

stour

Another origin of storm

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stormen‘of the wind: to blow violently’
  2. Englishtodaystorm

The verb is derived from Middle English stormen (‘of the wind: to blow violently; to cause to roll or toss’), from storm (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs). The noun is derived from verb etymology 2, verb sense 2.3 (‘to violently assault (a fortified position or stronghold, a building, etc.) with the aim of gaining control of it’).

Today it means

noun Any disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather, especially one affecting the earth's surface involving strong winds (leading to high waves at sea) and usually lightning, thunder, and precipitation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “storm”. 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-Germanic *staurijaną / storm

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