stein

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Stein (“stone”),^[2][3][4][5] probably short for Steinkrug (“stone jug”),^[6][7][8] a compound with Krug (“jug, pitcher”).^[7][8] Merriam-Webster instead derives it from stein gut (“stoneware, earthenware”).^[9] The German noun goes back through Middle High German to Old High German^[6][9] and is related to English stone.^[8][10][3] Etymonline compares Old English stæne (“pitcher, jug”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

An earthenware mug, especially for beer: 1855, in the Transactions of the Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The OED's definition, taken from Webster's dictionary of 1911, adds the quantity of beer that a stein holds, commonly about a pint.^[2] Merriam-Webster also uses the word for any large, thick beer mug, including glass ones, holding up to a quart.^[9] Dictionary.com dates the word only to 1900–05.^[11] In New Zealand a stein is also a student drinking event.^[12]

Timeline

• 1855 – an earthenware beer mug; the beer it holds.^[2][7][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large earthenware mug for beer, often of German design; also a heavy glass beer mug.^[5][9][3]
2. The amount of beer a stein holds, usually about a pint.^[5][9][3]
3. (New Zealand) A student drinking event.^[12]

Related words

• stone
• crock

Usage notes

In South African English, stein (also steine) is also a semi-sweet blended white wine, recorded from 1797; its origin is unknown, perhaps from steen or from German Steinwein, a wine from vineyards near Würzburg.^[13]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
12. ^ a b Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005), The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, Auckland: Oxford University Press
13. ^ A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, Dictionary Unit for South African English, https://dsae.co.za