stymie

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈstaɪmi/^[1]

Etymology

It is of unknown or uncertain origin.^[2][3][4][5] It may come from Scottish stymie “a person who sees poorly” (1616),^[3][4][6] from stime “the least bit”, as in being unable to see a stime.^[3][4] Merriam-Webster gives a Scots golfing term stimie, “to obstruct a shot”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In golf, an opponent's ball lying on the green between one's own ball and the hole (1834).^[6][4] Barnhart dates the noun to 1857.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The golfing verb, to block an opponent with a stymie, followed in 1857.^[6][3][4] The general sense “to block, hinder, thwart” is first recorded in 1902,^[3][4][6][7] and is now the usual one.^[2][7][5] Wiktionary notes that the golfing stymie has since been abolished.^[1]

Timeline

• 1616 – a person who sees poorly.^[6][3]
• 1834 – a golf ball blocking the line to the hole.^[6][4]
• 1857 – verb, to block with a stymie.^[6][3][4]
• 1902 – to thwart in general.^[6][3][4][7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To block or thwart; to stand in the way of.

Noun

1. (golf) A situation in which an opponent's ball blocks the line of one's putt.
2. An obstacle or difficult situation.

Usage notes

Random House gives stump, mystify, frustrate and confound as synonyms of the verb.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster