Etymologically
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stein

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Pronunciation

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]

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