stunt English · revision 15400
17 Oct 2026, 16:19 by bogdan “en10k b0443: maple … abundance” current version
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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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /stʌnt/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|check growth}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1583}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ Stunt, to check growth, is a verb use of the Middle English adjective stunnt, foolish,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|stunt|t=stupid, foolish]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*stuntaz|t=short, truncated]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[gmh|stunz|t=short, blunt]] and [[non|stuttr|t=short, scanty]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The development of the sense was influenced by the Old Norse word.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[stint]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To irritate or provoke: 1583 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, the 1580s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) Old English stunt is from about 960.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ To bring to an abrupt stand, nonplus, is from 1603,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and to check in growth, dwarf, from 1659 (the 1650s).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun, a stunted animal, is from 1725, and a check in growth from 1795.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) In dialect, a fit of sulkiness, as ''to take the stunt'', is from 1837.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 960 – stunt, foolish.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1583 – to provoke.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1603 – to nonplus.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1659 – to dwarf.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To hinder the growth or development of; to [[dwarf]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A stunted creature, or the stunting of growth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A plant disease that causes dwarfing.^(AHD)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[stunted]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|feat}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1878}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The feat is of uncertain or unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It may be a variant of colloquial stump, a dare (1871; see [[stump]]),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) or of [[de|Stunde|t=hour]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ 1878, American English, originally college athletics slang.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ An enterprise aimed at gaining attention is also from 1878,^(OED 1989) and a task or exercise from 1880.^(OED 1989) The word was popularized from about 1904, when aviators and the stage took it up,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the verb, to perform stunts, is from 1914.^(Barnhart 1988) The film stunt man is from 1930.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1878 – a stunt (US college slang).^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1904 – stunt flying.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1914 – to stunt (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1930 – stunt man.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A feat of unusual skill, strength or daring, especially one performed in a film.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Something unusual done to attract attention or publicity.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To perform stunts.^(AHD)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[stuntman]]
+ * [[stunt double]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[stint]]
+ * [[stump]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}