stop English · revision 2042

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=before 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=grc στύππη}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|stoppen|t=to plug, block]], [[inh|ang|-stoppian]], known only in [[m|ang|forstoppian|t=to stop up, stifle]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) This is a West Germanic word, cognate with [[ofs|stoppia|t=to plug, stuff]], [[gml|stoppen]], [[nl|stoppen]] and [[goh|stopfōn]] (modern [[de|stopfen|t=to plug, stuff]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) Most dictionaries take the Germanic verb as an early borrowing [[der|la-vul|*stuppāre|t=to stop up with tow]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[la|stuppa|t=tow, coarse flax]], from [[grc|στύππη|tr=stúppē]].^(AHD 2000)^(MW Collegiate)^(Chambers 2008) In support of this, plugs of tow were used in the Rhine valley from ancient times.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart, following Kluge, suggests instead a native Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*stoppōn]], related to [[la|stupēre|t=to be stunned]], though influenced by the Latin verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To plug, block or stop up an opening: Old English ''forstoppian'' was used of stopping the ears,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and the Middle English verb is first recorded before 1200 in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “to halt, cease” developed in English alone, from the idea of stopping a flow by blocking a hole;^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) other European languages have since borrowed it from English.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) “To bring to a halt” is from the 14th century and “to come to a halt” from the 16th.^(Hoad 1986) “To cause to cease” and “to stop the course of something” are recorded in the 1370s and 1390s.^(HTOED) The noun meant “a plug” in the late 14th century and “a cessation” in the mid-15th.^(Etymonline) On musical instruments a stop closed a hole to change the tone (about 1500); on organs it became a set of pipes and the knob that works it, whence ''pull out all the stops'' “make every effort” (1909).^(Etymonline) A stop was a pause in speaking by the 1560s and a punctuation mark by 1590,^(Etymonline) and ''full stop'' was printed as ''stop'' in telegrams by 1936.^(Etymonline) In phonetics it is a consonant made with complete closure (1660s), and “a stopping place” (''bus stop'') dates from 1889.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – to plug or block (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1377 – to cause to cease.^(HTOED)

+ * 14th century – to bring to a halt.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * late 14th century – noun, a plug.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – noun, a cessation of motion or action.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – a stop on a musical instrument.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – to come to a halt.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1560s – a pause in speaking.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590 – a punctuation mark.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1594 – adjective, as in ''stop sign''.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1660s – in phonetics, a stop consonant.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – a stopping place.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – ''pull out all the stops''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1918 – ''stop sign''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cease moving or acting; come to a [[halt]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To cause to halt or cease: ''stop a car''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To leave off doing (something): ''stop talking''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To prevent or restrain: ''stop him from leaving''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To close (an opening) by filling or plugging; block (a road or passage).^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To order a bank to withhold payment of (a cheque).^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To break a journey for a short visit or stay.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of stopping, or the state of being stopped; an end.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A short stay during a journey; a place where a bus or train regularly stops.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A device that blocks or regulates movement; a plug.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' A set of organ pipes of one tone quality, or the knob that controls it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(phonetics)'' A consonant made by completely closing the vocal tract, such as /p/ or /t/.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A punctuation mark, especially a [[full stop]].^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stoppable]]

+ * [[stopless]]

+ * [[stoplessness]]

+ * [[double-stop]]

+ * [[heart-stopping]]

+ * [[stop-action]]

+ * [[short-stop]]

+ * [[stop-and-go]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stuff]]

+ * [[estop]]

+ * [[stopper]]

+ * [[stoppage]]

+ * [[stopple]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Stop is the general term among verbs meaning “to bring to an end”; [[cease]] and [[desist]] are more formal, [[halt]] suggests a sudden or commanded stop, and [[quit]] is informal.^(AHD)^(RHWU) RHWU adds that [[arrest]] implies a sudden, complete restraint and [[check]] a partial or temporary one.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}