stare English · revision 14960

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ine-pro *ster-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /steə/, US /ster/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|staren]], [[inh|ang|starian|t=to gaze fixedly]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[gem-pro|*star-|t=to be rigid]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) cognate with [[dum|stāren]], [[goh|starēn]] (modern [[de|starren]]) and [[non|stara]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*ster-|t=stiff]], as in [[grc|στερεός|tr=stereós|t=solid, stiff]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To gaze fixedly, be wide-eyed: about 725, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word did not at first imply rudeness.^(Etymonline) Middle English staren is from about 1250, in The Owl and the Nightingale.^(Barnhart 1988) Of hair, to stand on end, it is from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) The noun meant the power of sight in the late 14th century, a sense now obsolete, and a fixed gaze from about 1700.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''To stare someone down'' is from 1848.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – to stare.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – staren.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – the power of sight.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – of hair, to stand on end.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * c. 1700 – a fixed gaze.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1848 – to stare down.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look fixedly, often wide-eyed, sometimes rudely or with hostility.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To stand out; to be obvious: ''to stare one in the face''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of hair or feathers, to stand on end, as from fear or illness.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An intent, fixed gaze.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[starer]]

+ * [[staringly]]

+ * [[outstare]]

+ * [[stare down]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stark]]

+ * [[stern]]

+ * [[starve]]

+ * [[stereo-]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Stare, an old name for the [[starling]] (about 725), is a separate word, from Old English [[m|ang|stær]].^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}