Etymology

steer

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Today it means: To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel). Full definition →

Middle English steeren ← Old English stēoran ← Proto-West Germanic *stiurijan
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steer · verb, noun1

  1. Old English · inherited fromstēor
  2. Middle English · inherited fromsteere
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stiurijaną“to steer”
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*stiurijan“to steer”
  5. Old English · inherited fromstēoran
  6. Middle English · inherited fromsteeren
  7. English todaysteer

Inherited from Middle English steeren, steren, stiren, sturen, steoren, from Old English stēoran, stīeran, stȳran (“to steer; guide a vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiurijan (“to steer”), from Proto-Germanic *stiurijaną (“to steer”). The noun is from Middle English steere, stere (“rudder”), steor, from Old English stēor, stȳr (“steering; guidance; direction”). Compare Dutch stuur, German Steuer, Icelandic stýri.

steer · noun, verb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*(s)táwros“wild bull; aurochs”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*steuraz“bull; steer”
  3. Old English · inherited fromstēor“a young bull or cow; steer”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsteer
  5. English todaysteer

Inherited from Middle English steer, ster, from Old English stēor (“a young bull or cow; steer”), from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (“bull; steer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)táwros (“wild bull; aurochs”). Cognate with Dutch stier, German Stier, Icelandic stjór, Latin taurus (“bull”), Greek ταύρος (távros). Doublet of tur and Taurus.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*stiurijaną all →

sternstarboard

Proto-Germanic*steuraz all →

stirk

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.