An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/stauen

by Friedrich Kluge

stauen, verb, ‘to dam in, stow away, pack,’ from Middle High German and Old High German stouwen, ‘to put a stop to, arrest, restrain’ (properly identical with Middle High German and Old High German stouwen, ‘to abuse, rate, accuse’?). Allied to Modern High German staunen, ‘to be amazed’ (originally a Swiss word, adopted as a literary term in the last century), which is wanting in Middle High German and Old High German. For the early history of stauen and staunen the older periods give no further clue, yet compare root stū̆, ‘to look fixedly,’ under Staude.