An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/stecken

by Friedrich Kluge

ModHG. stecken, wk. vb., ‘to stick, fix, put, place, conceal,’ from MidHG. and OHG. stecken, ‘to fasten by sticking, fix firmly,’ lit. ‘to make something stick’; a recent factitive of stechen (properly *stakjan for *staikjan, from the root stik). From the intransit. meaning of MidHG. stecken, ‘to remain fast,’ is derived the equiv. ModHG. stecken, str. vb., ‘to stick, remain fast, be fixed.’ The Rom. cognates, Ital. stecco, ‘thorn,’ stecca, ‘staff,’ Fr. etiquette, ‘ticket’ (on goods, &c.), are based on derivatives of the Teut. root stik, stëk.