Etymology

stilt

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Today it means: Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers. Full definition →

Middle English stilte ← Old English *stilte ← Proto-Germanic *stiltijǭ
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*stelt-“to be stiff”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stiltijǭ
  3. Old English · inherited from*stilte
  4. Middle English · inherited fromstilte
  5. English todaystilt

From Middle English stilte, stulte, from Old English *stilte, *stylte, from Proto-Germanic *stiltijǭ, *staltijǭ, *stultijǭ (“stilt”), from Proto-Germanic *stelt- (“to be stiff”). Akin to Danish stylte, Dutch stelt, German Stelze.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.