stud

stud¹ post, knob

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English stode, inherited from Old English studu (“pillar, prop, post”),^{[2][1][7][3][8]} inherited from Proto-Germanic *stuþs.^[1][3] Its cognates are Middle High German stud (“post, prop”), Old Norse stoð (“post”), Swedish stöd (“support”) and Danish stød,^[9][3][2][8] and it is related to German stützen (“to prop, support”).^[10][8][4] The OED compares Latvian stute (“support, pole”) and takes the word from a suffixed form of the Indo-European base of stow;^[9] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster also connect it with stōw (“place”),^[1][2][3] and the AHD and Etymonline with the root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A wooden post or upright prop: Old English, in the translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History;^[9] Barnhart dates the Old English word to about 850.^[3] Middle English used it for one of the upright timbers of a wall, as in studewerk (1277).^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The upright timbers of a timber-framed wall remained the main sense,^[9][8] and in North America the word was used from 1647 for the height of a room from floor to ceiling, a use later found in New Zealand.^[9] Figuratively a person could be the stud or support of an institution (before 1500 to 1652),^[9] and in East Anglia and Kent dialect it still meant a prop or support, for example the feet of a trug basket.^[11] The sense "ornamental knob of metal on a belt or bridle" appears in 1420,^[9][4] and led to "any boss or nail head projecting from a surface";^[9][12] Johnson (1755) defined it as a nail with a large head driven for ornament.^[13] A detachable button for a shirt front or collar is recorded from the 16th century.^[4] The verb, to build with studs, dates from 1448,^[9] and "to set with studs" from 1570, with Barnhart dating it from 1505–06;^[9][14] the extended "to dot or scatter over", as in studded with, is found from before 1635,^[9] with Etymonline dating the general use by 1790.^[1] Since 1849 a stud has also been the crossbar in a link of chain cable.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 850 – studu, a post or prop.^[3]
• 1277 – studewerk, upright timbers.^[3]
• 1420 – an ornamental metal knob.^[9]
• 1448 – verb, to build with studs.^[9]
• 1570 – verb, to ornament with studs.^[9]
• 1647 – (North America) the height of a room.^[9]
• 1849 – (nautical) the crossbar of a chain link.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A knob, rivet or large-headed nail that projects from a surface, especially for decoration.
2. A small earring on a short post passed through the ear.
3. A two-headed fastener used to fix a collar or shirt front.
4. One of the small projections on the sole of a sports boot, giving better grip.
5. One of the upright timber or metal posts in the frame of a wall.

Verb

1. To decorate, cover or fit with studs: a leather jacket studded with brass.
2. To dot or scatter over a surface: a coastline studded with small harbours.

stud² horses kept for breeding

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English stod, inherited from Old English stōd (“stud, herd of horses”),^{[2][1][7][3][4]} inherited from Proto-Germanic *stōdą.^[1][15][16] Its cognates are Middle Low German stōt, Old High German stuot (“herd of horses”), Old Norse stóð and Dutch stoet (“procession, retinue”), and the same word gave German Stute (“mare”).^{[9][1][15][8]} Outside Germanic it is close to Old Church Slavonic стадо (stado, “herd, flock”) and Lithuanian stodas (“flock of horses”).^[15][17][16] Kroonen derives the group from the root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”) with a noun suffix,^[15] and Klein and Ayto explain the original sense as "a standing place for horses";^[17][5] the word is related to stand and steed.^[8][5][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

A place where horses are kept for breeding, or the horses kept there: Old English, in the will of Ælfhelm,^[9] and about 1000 in Ælfric's Glossary.^[3] In Middle English stod meare was a brood mare (probably before 1200).^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word could also mean horses in general (?1316–1500) and a breed or race of animals or people (?c1335–1750),^[9][8] and in Scots a single brood mare.^[9] From the 17th century it named the horses bred by or belonging to one owner (before 1661), and figuratively a group of people working for someone (before 1625).^[9][4] Use for a single stallion is first American (1803), and for other male breeding animals dates from 1911.^[9] Stud poker, a game in which some cards are dealt face up, is recorded from 1884.^[9][18] The slang sense, a man noted for his sexual prowess, is first recorded in an East Anglian glossary of 1895,^[9][11] and in American usage, especially African American, it also meant simply "a man, a guy" from 1909.^[9][19] American slang also used stud as an adjective meaning "excellent" from 1903.^[19]

Timeline

• Old English – a stud of horses.^[9][3]
• before 1200 – stod meare, a brood mare.^[3]
• before 1661 – the horses of one owner.^[9]
• 1803 – (US) a stallion.^[9]
• 1884 – (cards) stud poker.^[9]
• 1895 – (slang) a sexually successful man.^[9]
• 1909 – (US slang) a man, a guy.^[9][19]
• 1911 – any male animal kept for breeding.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A farm or establishment where horses or other animals are kept for breeding; also the animals kept there.
2. A stallion or other male animal kept for breeding: The colt was retired to stud.
3. (slang) A man regarded as sexually attractive or active.
4. Short for stud poker.