Etymology

sting

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Today it means: A bump left on the skin after having been stung. Full definition →

Middle English styng ← Old English sting ← Proto-Germanic *stingaz
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sting · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stungiz
  2. Old English · inherited fromstynġ
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stingaz
  4. Old English · inherited fromsting
  5. Middle English · inherited fromstyng
  6. English todaysting

From Middle English styng, sting, stynge, stenge, from Old English sting, stincg (“a sting, stab, thrust made with a pointed instrument; the wound made by a stab or sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stingaz; possibly also from Old English stynġ, from Proto-Germanic *stungiz.

sting · verb2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*stinganą
  2. Old English · inherited fromstingan
  3. Middle English · inherited fromstingen
  4. English todaysting

From Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan, from Proto-Germanic *stinganą. Compare Swedish and Icelandic stinga.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.