Etymology

stirrup

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Today it means: A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding. Full definition →

Middle English stirop ← Old English stiġrāp
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromstiġrāp“stirrup”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromstirop
  3. English todaystirrup

From Middle English stirop, stirope, from Old English stiġrāp (“stirrup”), a compound of stiġe ("ascent, descent, a going up or down"; related to stīġan (“to climb”)) and rāp (“rope”), equivalent to sty + rope. Cognate with Dutch stegereep, stegelreep (“stirrup”), Old Saxon stigerēp (“stirrup”), Middle High German stereip, stegreif ("stirrup"; > German Stegreif (“improvisation”)), Icelandic stigreip (“stirrup”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.