Etymologically
Log in

stack

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 06:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
← Previous version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /stæk/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English stak, borrowed from Old Norse stakkr (“haystack”),[2][3][4] compare Danish stak and Swedish stack,[3][2] from Proto-Germanic *stakon-, a stake,[3] related to Old English staca, a stake (see stake),[2][5] and said to be from Proto-Indo-European *stog-, source also of Russian стог (stog, “haystack”).[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pile, heap or group of things, especially a pile of grain in the sheaf: about 1300, in Havelok the Dane;[2][3] earlier as a surname (1199).[2]

Semantic evolution

A pile of firewood or sticks is from 1390.[7] A number of chimneys or pipes standing together is from 1667,[2][4] and a single chimney of a factory, locomotive or steamship from 1825.[2][3] A set of library shelves is from 1879,[7][3] a pile of aircraft circling at different heights from 1947,[7] and in computing a store in which the last item in is the first out from 1960.[7][3] The verb, to pile up grain, is from the early 14th century,[3][2] and to arrange a deck of cards unfairly, stack the deck, from 1825.[3][2] To stack up, to compare, is from 1903, from piles of poker chips.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a pile of grain.[2]
  • early 14th century – to pile up (verb).[3]
  • 1667 – a stack of chimneys.[2]
  • 1825 – a chimney; to stack cards.[2]
  • 1879 – book stacks.[7]
  • 1947 – an aircraft stack.[7]
  • 1960 – a computer stack.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An orderly pile or heap, especially one in layers.
  2. A large pile of hay or straw stored outdoors.
  3. A chimney or group of chimneys, or a vertical exhaust pipe.
  4. (often stacks) Shelves of books in a library.
  5. (informal) A large amount: a stack of work.
  6. (computing) An area of memory in which the item most recently stored is the first retrieved.

Verb

  1. To arrange in a stack; to pile up.
  2. To arrange cards or circumstances unfairly in one's favour.
  3. To direct aircraft to circle at different heights while waiting to land.

Word family

  • stackable
  • stacker
  • stackless
  • bookstack
  • haystack
  • smokestack
  • restack

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press