Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/366

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‘bunghole, valve in the tube of a pump.’ The persistent t of the MidHG. inflected form points of itself to the foreign origin of the term, and still more so the MidHG. variants punct and pfunt, as well as ModHG. (dial.) Punt and Bunde (as to the period when the word was borrowed, comp. Wein). Du. spon, spun, ‘bung,’ and Fr. bonde, ‘sluice, plug,’ bondon, ‘bung,’ are corresponding terms, derived from the MidHG. words, which are based on Lat. puncta, ‘prick, puncture, opening made inn pipe.’ With regard to the s of MidHG. spunt, comp. Ital. spuntone, ‘spontoon,’ spuntare, ‘to blunt, allied to Lat. punctum.

Spur, f., ‘track, trace, footsteps, vestige,’ from MidHG. spur (spür), n. and f., ‘footstep,’ beside which the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. spor occurs; connected with the Teut. and Aryan root sper (see Sporn), ‘to tread.’ To this is allied the ModHG. denominative spüren, ‘to trace, investigate, discover,’ from MidHG. spürn, OHG. spuren, spurren, and spurien, wk. vb., lit. ‘to follow in search of the track of game,’ then ‘to go in quest of, trace, examine.’ This figurative sense recurs in all the Teut. languages (comp. Du. speuren, AS. spyrian, OIc. spyrja), and is probably a relic of the terms used by OTeut. hunters.

sputen, vb., ‘to speed, make haste,’ from the equiv. MidHG. *spuoten (not recorded), OHG. spuotôn; allied to MidHG. and OHG. spuot, f., ‘success, dispatch,’ which is the abstract of MidHG. and OHG. spuon (spuoan), ‘to succeed, be successful’ (sputen is wanting in Suab. and Bav.). To the same cognates E. speed, from AS. spéd, ‘success’ (AS. spôwan, ‘to make progress’), Du. spoed, ‘haste,’ spoeden, ‘to hasten.’ With the root spô (spê) contained in these words, Sans. sphâ, ‘to swell, grow, thrive,’ and OSlov. spěją (spěti), ‘to be successful,’ are connected; so too perhaps Lat. spatium.

spüfzen, vb., equiv. to speutzen.

Staat, m., ‘state, country, pomp, show,’ ModHG. only, borrowed, like Du. staat, and E. state, from Lat. status, whence also Fr. état and Ital. stato. The meaning ‘display’ also belongs to Fr. état. Stadt is a totally different word.

Stab, m., ‘staff, stick, staff-officers,’ from MidHG. and OHG. stap (gen. stabes), m., ‘stick, prop. staff’; a common Teut. word, represented also by Goth. stafs (b), AS. stœf, E. staff, Du. staf (comp. also Buch-

stabe under Buch). Its relation to the similarly sounding OHG. vb. stabên, ‘to be stiff’) leads to an Aryan root stap, ‘to be firm,’ which is implied by Sans. sthâpay, ‘to cause to stand, erect,’ or to Aryan stabh in Lith. stábas, stóbras, ‘statue,’ ‘staff, buttress.’

Stachel, m., ‘sting, prickle, goad,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (very rarely) stachel, OHG. stahhulla (stacchulla), f.; a rather late derivative of stechen.

Stadel, m., ‘barn,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stadel, OHG. stadal, m.; an old derivative of the Aryan root stā̆, ‘to stand,’ prop. signifying ‘standing-place’; comp. Lat. stabulum, ‘stable,’ allied to stare, ‘to stand,’ Sans. sthâtra, ‘standing-place,’ allied to sthâ, ‘to stand.’ Comp. Scheune also.

Staden, m., ‘bank, shore,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stade, OHG. stado, m.; corresponding to Goth. staþ, AS. stœþ, OSax. stath, ‘bank.’ The common Teut. stem staþo- (with which Gestade, ModHG. only, is connected) is formed from the Aryan root stā̆ (see stehen and Stätte), and signifies ‘bank’ in the sense of ‘terra firma,’ Staden is the genuine HG. word for the prop. MidG. and LG. Ufer.

Stadt, f., ‘city, town,’ from MidHG. stat, f., ‘place, situation, spot, locality, town,’ OLG. stat, f., ‘place, spot.’ Prop. identical with Statt and Stätte (the meaning ‘town’ was first developed in the MidHG. period; the earlier term was Burg, OHG. and MidHG. burc, f.). See Statt.

Staffel, f., ‘rung; step, degree,’ from MidHG. staffel (stâffel, usually stapfel), m. and f., ‘grade, degree,’ OHG. stā̆ffal (stapsal), m., staffala, f., ‘foundation, basis, step.’ A derivative of the Teut. root stap, ‘to go’ (in Stapfe and Stufe); allied to the LG. cognates of Stapel.

Staffette, f., ‘courier, special messenger,’ ModHG. only; see Stapfe.

Stahl, m., ‘steel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stahel, m. and n. (contracted stâl, with the variant stachel), OHG. stahal (stâl, *stahhal); corresponding to Du. staal, AS. stŷle, steli, n., E. steel, and the equiv. OIc. stâl (Goth. *stakla-), n. A pre-Teut. form staklo- is implied by the cognate OPruss. stakla, ‘steel.’ Other corresponding terms are wanting in the Aryan languages (so too in the case of Geld and Silber the Teut. terms are related only to the Slav.).

Staken, m., ‘stake, pale, boat-hook,’