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stunt

Etymology and origin of the English word stunt

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Stunt, to check growth, is from an Old English adjective; stunt, a daring feat, is a 19th-century American word of uncertain origin.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /stʌnt/[3]

stunt1 check growth

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1583
From
Old English stunt

Etymology

Stunt, to check growth, is a verb use of the Middle English adjective stunnt, foolish,[1][4] inherited from Old English stunt (“stupid, foolish”),[1][4][2] from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz (“short, truncated”),[4][1][2] cognate with Middle High German stunz (“short, blunt”) and Old Norse stuttr (“short, scanty”).[1][4][2] The development of the sense was influenced by the Old Norse word.[4][5] It is related to stint.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To irritate or provoke: 1583 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, the 1580s in Etymonline.[1][5][4] Old English stunt is from about 960.[1]

Semantic evolution

To bring to an abrupt stand, nonplus, is from 1603,[1][4] and to check in growth, dwarf, from 1659 (the 1650s).[1][4] The noun, a stunted animal, is from 1725, and a check in growth from 1795.[1][6] In dialect, a fit of sulkiness, as to take the stunt, is from 1837.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 960 – stunt, foolish.[1]
  • 1583 – to provoke.[1]
  • 1603 – to nonplus.[1]
  • 1659 – to dwarf.[1]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To hinder the growth or development of; to dwarf.

Noun

  1. A stunted creature, or the stunting of growth.
  2. A plant disease that causes dwarfing.

Word family

  • stunted

stunt2 feat

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
1878

Etymology

The feat is of uncertain or unknown origin.[1][2] It may be a variant of colloquial stump, a dare (1871; see stump),[4][5] or of German Stunde (“hour”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

1878, American English, originally college athletics slang.[1][4][6]

Semantic evolution

An enterprise aimed at gaining attention is also from 1878,[6] and a task or exercise from 1880.[6] The word was popularized from about 1904, when aviators and the stage took it up,[4][6] and the verb, to perform stunts, is from 1914.[1] The film stunt man is from 1930.[4]

Timeline

  • 1878 – a stunt (US college slang).[1]
  • 1904 – stunt flying.[6]
  • 1914 – to stunt (verb).[1]
  • 1930 – stunt man.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A feat of unusual skill, strength or daring, especially one performed in a film.
  2. Something unusual done to attract attention or publicity.

Verb

  1. To perform stunts.

Word family

  • stuntman
  • stunt double
  • stint
  • stump

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ 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

Related etymologies

  • shambles · also from Old English
  • fluke · also from Old English
  • fiend · also from Old English
  • buxom · also from Old English
  • along · also from Old English
  • pretty · also from Old English
  • understand · also from Old English
  • hit · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Stunt.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/stunt. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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