stave etymology

Etymology:

• Middle English: stave, from Old English stæf "staff, pole, stick"
• Proto-Germanic: *stabaz "staff"

Meaning:

• A vertical wooden bar or rod, especially one forming part of a fence, barrel, or staircase.
• A stanza or verse in a poem or song.
• (Music) A group of five parallel lines on a musical staff, representing the pitches of notes.

Origin:

The word "stave" ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic root *stabaz, which meant "staff." This root is also found in the words "stable" (originally meaning a place to keep horses), "staff," and "stable" (meaning firm or unchanging).

In Old English, the word stæf referred to a variety of wooden objects, including staffs, poles, and sticks. Over time, the word came to be used more specifically for the vertical wooden bars used in constructing fences and barrels.

In the 15th century, the word "stave" began to be used in a musical sense, referring to the vertical lines on a musical staff. This usage originated from the practice of using wooden staffs to draw the lines on parchment.

stave relate terms

• staff

  Etymology The word staff comes from the Old English word stæf which meant a stick

• stiff

  Etymology Middle English stif stive styf from Old English stif stiff rigid dif

• rung

  Etymology The word rung has Germanic origins derived from the Old English word rung

• round

  Etymology Origin of the Word The word round comes from the Old English word rund w

• dudgeon

  Etymology The word dudgeon has Old High German Old French and Middle English roots

• typewriter

  Etymology Typewriter is a compound word that is derived from the following elements

• space

  Origin The word space is derived from the Old French word espace which itself comes

• barrel

  Etymology The word barrel is derived from the Old French word barril which is itself

• equip

  Etymology Old French esquiper Late Latin excipere to equip Latin ex out from

• pique

  Etymology Latin pīca pīcus Proto Indo European peikos spotted bird Mea