stab English · revision 39604

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=a1380, J. Barbour, Bruce}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /stæb/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|stabben]], found before 1530 only in Scots writers, while the noun [[m|enm|stabbe]] is in an English glossary of 1440.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Its origin is uncertain.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) The OED relates it to the dialect verb [[sco|stob|t=to pierce, stab]], and Merriam-Webster thinks it is probably an alteration of that word;^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Klein, Weekley and Etymonline take ''stob'' from a noun meaning "stake, nail", perhaps a variant of [[stub]].^(Klein 1966)^(Weekley 1921)^(Etymonline) Barnhart doubts the connection, since ''stob'' is not recorded before 1529.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Skeat instead compared [[sv|stabbe|t=thick stick, stump]] (in dialect) and [[is|stabbi|t=stump]].^(Skeat 1911)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To strike or wound with a pointed weapon, used absolutely: in Barbour's ''Bruce'', written about 1375 and quoted by the OED from a copy of 1487.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, a wound made by stabbing, is first recorded in 1440, in the ''Promptorium Parvulorum''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The transitive verb, to wound or kill someone with a dagger or knife, is first recorded in Palsgrave's dictionary of 1530, and the noun for the act of stabbing in the same book.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb was long used of a wound given treacherously;^(Etymonline) figurative uses, of words or feelings that pierce like a blade, appear from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and Johnson (1755) gave as one sense of the noun "a dark injury; a sly mischief".^(Johnson 1755) Shakespeare also used the verb with a sexual sense.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) The image of an attack from behind gave ''stab in the back'' for a betrayal: Etymonline dates the noun to 1881 and the verb to 1888, the OED the verb to 1916 (in Bernard Shaw) and the noun to 1922 (in Joyce's ''Ulysses'').^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) The colloquial sense "an attempt", as in ''have a stab at'', began in American English: 1895 in the OED and Etymonline, 1908 in Barnhart,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with an Australian use from 1885 in Green's Dictionary of Slang.^(GDoS) Later uses include a sudden sharp pain (1865) and a flash of bright colour against dark surroundings (1894).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1375 – ''stabben'', to thrust with a pointed weapon, in Barbour's ''Bruce''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1440 – noun, a stab wound.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – to wound with a pointed weapon; noun, an act of stabbing.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – figurative use, to cause keen pain.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1846 – to roughen a wall with a pick before plastering.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1865 – a sudden sharp pain.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1873 – (billiards) a short stiff stroke.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1881 – ''stab in the back'', a treacherous deed, in Etymonline's dating.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1895 – (originally US) an attempt.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pierce or wound with a pointed weapon such as a [[knife]] or [[dagger]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To make a thrust or jab at something with a pointed object: ''She stabbed at the ice with her pole.''^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of pain or a feeling, to strike sharply and suddenly.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''stab in the back'': to [[betray]] someone who trusts one.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thrust with a pointed weapon, or the wound it makes.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A sudden sharp pain or feeling: ''a stab of regret''.^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023)

+ # (informal) An attempt, especially in ''have'' or ''take a stab at''.^(GDoS)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''a stab in the back'': a [[treachery|alt=treacherous]] act.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stabber]]

+ * [[stabbing]]

+ * [[backstab]]

+ * [[unstabbed]]

+ * [[backstabbing]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stub]]

+ * [[stob]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A Scots ''stab'', a stake or post, recorded from 1680, is probably a variant of ''stob''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898) In printers' slang ''stab'' was short for ''establishment'', regular weekly wages as opposed to piecework, from 1864.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) In medicine a ''stab cell'' is a white blood cell with a rod-shaped nucleus, from [[de|Stab|t=rod]] (1929).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In Surrey and Sussex dialect a ''stab'' was also the small hole in which a rabbit hides her young.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}