An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/stechen

by Friedrich Kluge

stechen, vb., ‘to prick, stab, engrave,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stëchen, OHG. stëhhan, str. vb. From this strong verbal root stek, which is preserved in MidEur. Teut. (OSax. stëkan, Du. steken, OFris. steka); comp. sticken, Stecken, and Stichel. By passing from the i class into the e class this root (comp. bitten) originated in an older form stik, pre-Teut. stig, which has a variant tig, ‘to be sharp,’ in the non-Teut. languages. Comp. Sans. tij, ‘to be sharp, sharpen’ (tigmá, ‘pointed, sharp’), Gr. στίγμα, ‘prick, point,’ from στέζω, ‘to mark with a pointed instrument, prick,’ Lat. instîgare, ‘to goad on, incite.’ Whether these are connected further with a prehistoric root stik, stink (see Stange), is uncertain. —