Etymograph

English

stuff

Stuff comes from Middle English stuf, and goes back to Latin stuffa.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstuffa1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stuf1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1599stuff1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stuff
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstuffaWiktionary, English stuff
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stufWiktionary, English stuff
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1599stuffWiktionary, English stuff. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;…”

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Another origin of stuff

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)tewp-‘to push, to stick’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stuppōną‘to stop, close’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*stoppōn‘to clog up, block, fill’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050stoffōn‘to stuff, insert’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estoffer‘to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stuffen‘to equip, furnish’
  7. Englishtodaystuff

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Today it means

noun Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stuff”. 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 / Latin stuffa / stuff