An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Statt
Statt, f., ‘place, stead,’ from MidHG. and OHG. stat, f., ‘place, spot’; from the plur. (OHG. stęti, MidHG. stęte) is derived ModHG. Stätte, f., ‘place, site.’ Corresponding to Du. stede, steê, ‘spot, place, small town.’ The ModHG. prep. statt (comp. kraft) is properly an oblique case of the subst.; in MidHG. (very rarely) an... stęte, ‘in place of,’ &c. ModHG. zu statten (as in the phrase zu statten kommen, ‘to serve one's turn, be useful’) is not connected with this word Statt, but is based on MidHG. stat, OHG. stata, f., ‘convenient spot or period, occasion, help’; hence even in MidHG. ze staten, OHG. zi statu, ‘at a suitable time, for assistance.’ With this is associated ModHG. gestatten, MidHG. gestaten, OHG. gistatôn, ‘to permit,’ lit. ‘to furnish a good opportunity.’ OHG. stata is, like stat (gen. stęti), a verbal abstract of stehen. — ModHG. stattfinden, ‘to take place,’ from MidHG. state finden, ‘to find a good opportunity.’ —