Etymology

steadfast

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Today it means: Fixed or unchanging; steady. Full definition →

Middle English stedefast ← Old English stedefæst ← Proto-Germanic *stadifastuz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stadifastuz
  2. Old English · inherited fromstedefæst
  3. Middle English · inherited fromstedefast
  4. English todaysteadfast

From Middle English stedefast, from Old English stedefæst, from Proto-Germanic *stadifastuz, equivalent to stead (“place; spot; position”) + fast (“firm; fixed”). Cognate with Middle Dutch stedevast (“steadfast”), Icelandic staðfestur (“steadfast”), Danish stedfast (“firmly attached, secured”), Danish stadfæste (“to confirm; ratify”), Norwegian Nynorsk stadfesta (“confirm, ratify; establish”), Swedish stadfästa (“to confirm; establish”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.