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Etymology and origin of the Old English word steor

steor1 young bull

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 700 Épinal Glossary
Inherited from
Proto-West Germanic *steur
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *steuraz

Pronunciation

Forms

stēor m (strong a-stem; genitive singular stēores, nominative plural stēoras)[1]

Etymology

The word for the young bull is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *steur, from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (“bull”).[1][2] The noun is shared with Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌿𐍂 (stiur, “calf, young steer”), Old Dutch stier and Old High German stior; Old Norse stjórr belongs here too.[2][3][4]

Kroonen calls the word's origin uncertain.[2] It is usually connected with Avestan staora (“large domestic animal”), but that word may come from a form meaning “big”, and a link with Proto-Germanic *þeuraz (“bull”) is difficult because of the different first consonants;[2] Kroonen suggests that the different first consonants could be explained if both words were taken from a pre-Indo-European language.[2] Orel takes it as identical with the Avestan word and with Middle Persian stōr (“draught animal, horse”), and unrelated to *þeuraz.[3] Holthausen and Köbler set it beside adjectives meaning “strong, large” such as Sanskrit स्थूर (sthūrá, “stout, thick”), and Köbler traces it to the root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is among the oldest English glosses: the Épinal Glossary, written at the end of the seventh century or about 700, glosses Latin “ludaris” with steor and “prifeta” with thriuuuintri steor, a three-year-old steer.[6][7][8][9]

Semantic evolution

The word is known almost only from glossaries, where it renders Latin “juvencus” and “vitula” as well as the obscure “ludaris” and “ludarius”;[10][11] Bosworth and Toller define it as a young bull or cow, and it also forms the compound steor-oxa.[10][11] The corresponding word in the other Germanic languages also means a young bull or a calf.[2][3] It lived on as Middle English steer, now English steer, a young ox.[1]

Timeline

  • s. vii ex. – steor glossing “ludaris” in the Épinal Glossary.[6][7][9]
  • s. ix¹ – steor glossing “ludarius” in the Corpus Glossary.[12][9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a young bull, a steer; also a young cow.[10][11][5]

Word family

  • stēoroxa

Descendants

  • Middle English steer (→ English steer; Middle Scots ster; Middle Scots stere)[1]

steor2 rudder; guidance

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
890–897 Pastoral Care
Inherited from
Proto-Germanic *stiuriją
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *stiuriją

Pronunciation

Forms

stēor n (strong a-stem; genitive singular stēores)[1] Also feminine, stēor or stȳr, genitive stēore, in the senses of steering, guidance and discipline.[10][5]

Etymology

The word for the rudder and for guidance is inherited from Proto-Germanic *stiuriją, from the verb *stiurijaną (“to steer”), according to Wiktionary.[1] Köbler and Orel set up a feminine noun instead, Köbler's *steurō (“pole, support”);[5][3] Orel lists Old Norse stýri (“helm, rudder”), Old Frisian stiūre and Old High German stiura (“steering oar, post, support”) beside it.[5][3] Holthausen adds Old Saxon stior and Middle Low German stūre.[4]

Holthausen connects it with Old Norse staurr (“stake, pole”), Ancient Greek σταυρός (staurós, “stake”) and Latin īnstaurō (“to renew, set up again”).[4] Orel takes it instead as an adjective used as a noun, the adjective surviving in a Gothic adverb meaning “dissolutely” and related to Sanskrit स्थूर (sthūrá, “stout, thick”).[3] Holthausen sets the verb stīeran (“to steer”) beside it.[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in the Pastoral Care in Hatton 20, written 890×897, in the sense “restraint, discipline”: ægðer wære unnyt ge mildheortnes ge steor, gif hie anlipe wæron “both mercy and discipline would be useless if they were alone”.[14][9]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller separate a neuter noun, the rudder or helm, from a feminine noun of steering: guidance and direction, then what guides, a rule; then correction and reproof, restraint, and punishment.[10] In glosses it renders Latin “gubernaculum” and “gubernatio”, and the Lambeth Psalter's gyrd steore is the “virga directionis”, the rod of direction.[5][10] In the laws it means discipline and order, then the secular penalty set beside the Church's penance, and a fine.[15] Ælfric writes of þa stiðan steora þe Godes æ tæcð “the harsh punishments that God's law teaches”.[16][9] The rudder lived on as Middle English stere.[1][10]

Timeline

  • 890×897 – ge mildheortnes ge steor “both mercy and discipline” in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20).[14][9]
  • s. x² – þæs cymeð steor of heofonum “for that, correction comes from heaven” in Guthlac in the Exeter Book.[17][9]
  • s. xi in. – þa stiðan steora “the harsh punishments” in Ælfric's Lives of Saints.[16][9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a rudder, a helm.[10][5]
  2. steering, guidance, direction.[10][11]
  3. a rule, regulation.[10]
  4. correction, discipline, reproof; restraint.[10][18]
  5. (law) punishment, penalty; a fine.[15][11]

Word family

  • stēorlēas
  • stēormann
  • stēoresmann
  • stēorbord

Descendants

  • Middle English stere[1]
  • stīeran

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 478
  3. ^ a b c d e f Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 377
  4. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 320
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. stēor
  6. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 610
  7. ^ a b Pheifer, J. D. (1974), Old English Glosses in the Épinal-Erfurt Glossary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 121
  8. ^ Pheifer, J. D. (1974), Old English Glosses in the Épinal-Erfurt Glossary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 130
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 916
  11. ^ a b c d e Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 183
  12. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 76
  13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 321
  14. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
  15. ^ a b Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 201
  16. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 282
  17. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 223
  18. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 711

Related etymologies

  • hit · also from Proto-Germanic
  • treowþ · also from Proto-Germanic
  • lim · also from Proto-Germanic
  • fær · also from Proto-Germanic
  • druncen · also from Proto-Germanic
  • burg · also from Proto-Germanic
  • clingan · also from Proto-Germanic
  • þerscan · also from Proto-Germanic
Cite this entry

“Steor.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ang/steor. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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