Etymology

forstop

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Today it means: To stop up; block; clog; obstruct; to stifle (the breath); to dam up (a watercourse). Full definition →

Middle English forstoppen ← Old English forstoppian
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromforstoppian“to stop up, close”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromforstoppen
  3. English todayforstop

From Middle English forstoppen, from Old English forstoppian (“to stop up, close”), equivalent to for- + stop. Cognate with Dutch verstoppen (“to clog, obstruct, conceal”), German verstopfen (“to block, clog, plug, stop up”), Swedish förstoppa (“to constipate”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.