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stakkr

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Etymology and origin of the Old Norse word stakkr

stakkr1 short coat

Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1320–1350 AM 132 fol
Inherited from
Proto-Germanic *stakkaz
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *stakkaz

Forms

stakkr m (genitive stakks, plural stakkar)[1]

Etymology

The word for the short coat is inherited from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“short coat”),[2][3] shared with Old Frisian stak (“cloak”).[2][4] Its origin is disputed.[5][6] Heidermanns and Köbler derive it from an adjective *stakka- (“short”), which survives only in Old Swedish,^([7])[3] and Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon mentions this view, citing Old Swedish stakker (“short”), but notes that the coat was often long.[5] More often it has been joined to the root Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”).[5] De Vries takes the first sense to be “cut-off stake” and so puts it with the word for a haystack.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota first has it in Möðruvallabók, AM 132 fol (1320–1350), in Njáls saga, in the form stakki.[8] Fritzner quotes the same saga: hann var í blám stakki ok hafði tǫrguskjǫld “he wore a blue coat and had a small round shield”.[9]

Semantic evolution

Fritzner describes a short garment for the upper body, pulled on over the head.[9] Compounds name coats of particular stuff or use: skinnstakkr, fangastakkr, þófastakkr.[10] In poetry it is a word for a cloak.[11][12] Modern Icelandic and Faroese stakkur is a coat or a woman's dress, and Nynorsk stakk a skirt.[5] Finnish takki “coat” and Sami stakka “petticoat” were borrowed from Norse.[6]

Timeline

  • 1320–1350 – stakki in Njáls saga in Möðruvallabók.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a short coat, cape or smock, pulled on over the head.[1][9][10]

Word family

  • skinnstakkr
  • fangastakkr
  • þófastakkr
  • bakstakkr

Descendants

  • Icelandic stakkur[5]
  • Faroese stakkur[5]
  • Norwegian Nynorsk stakk[5]

stakkr2 haystack

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1320–1350 AM 132 fol
Inherited from
Proto-Germanic *stakkaz
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *stakkaz

Forms

stakkr m (genitive stakks, plural stakkar)[1]

Etymology

The word for the haystack is inherited from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“haystack”).[13][14] It is probably related to the Slavic word for a stack, Proto-Slavic *stogъ;[5][13][6] Torp sets up a preform with ⟨gn⟩.[15] It is usually connected with staki and stjaki “stake”, from the poles that hold up a stack, and Middle Low German stack (“dam of slanting stakes”) points the same way.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota first has it in Möðruvallabók, AM 132 fol (1320–1350), in Egils saga, in the form stakkr.[8] Cleasby and Vigfússon quote that saga for grazing as good as stakkr tǫðu “a stack of hay”.[10]

Semantic evolution

Hayfields were measured by the stacks they yielded: átta stakka vǫllr is a field giving eight stacks, and stakksvǫllr a field giving one.[10][1][16] In Icelandic and Faroese stakkur is also a tall rock in the sea.[6]

English stack is a loan from Norse,[6][15] and so are Shetland stak and Scottish and Hebridean stac “steep rock”.[6]

Timeline

  • 1320–1350 – stakkr in Egils saga in Möðruvallabók.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a stack or rick of hay; a heap.[1][17][14]

Word family

  • stakksvǫllr
  • torfstakkr
  • stakkgarðr

Descendants

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. stakkr
  2. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 370
  3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  4. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. stak
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. stakkur
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 542
  7. ^ Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter
  8. ^ a b c d Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 132 fol
  9. ^ a b c Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. stakkr
  10. ^ a b c d Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 587
  11. ^ Benedikt Gröndal (1864), Clavis poëtica antiquae linguae septentrionalis, Hafniae, p. 12
  12. ^ Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1860), Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis, Hafniæ: Societas regia antiquariorum septentrionalium, p. 770
  13. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  14. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. stakkr
  15. ^ a b Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 480
  16. ^ Hægstad, Marius; Torp, Alf (1909), Gamalnorsk ordbok med nynorsk tyding, Kristiania: Det norske samlaget, p. 425
  17. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 596

Related etymologies

  • visk · also from Proto-Germanic
  • klubba · also from Proto-Germanic
  • hǫggva · also from Proto-Germanic
  • taka · also from Proto-Germanic
  • garðr · also from Proto-Germanic
  • geta · also from Proto-Germanic
  • draga · also from Proto-Germanic
  • flatr · also from Proto-Germanic
Cite this entry

“Stakkr.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/non/stakkr. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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