stake English · revision 7450

+ English has two words spelled stake: a pointed post, inherited from Old English, and a wager, of uncertain origin, perhaps a special use of the first.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /steɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|pointed post}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 893|origins=gem-pro *stakô}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|staca|t=stake, post]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *stakōn, source also of Old Norse stiaki, Middle Dutch stake and Dutch [[m|nl|staak]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*steg-|t=pole, stick]], related to [[stick]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) The Germanic word was borrowed into Romance, as Spanish estaca, and came back into English as [[attach]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A stout pointed stick or post: about 893 in the OED, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Orosius, in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The post to which a condemned person is bound to be burned is from about 1200,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the post for baiting a bear from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The verb, to fasten to a stake, is early 13th-century, to impale about 1400, and to mark off land with stakes from the early 14th century;^(Etymonline) ''stake a claim'' to land is American, by 1851, and figurative by 1876.^(Etymonline) ''Stake out'', to keep a place under surveillance, is American, from 1942.^(Etymonline) ''Pull up stakes'', to move away, alludes to tent stakes.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – a post.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – the stake for burning.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – to mark off land.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – stake a claim.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1942 – stake out.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end, driven into the ground as a support or marker.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(the stake)'' A post to which a person was tied to be burned alive.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To support or mark with stakes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(stake out)'' To keep a place under watch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(stake a claim)'' To declare one's right to something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stakeout]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|wager; share}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1530}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain origin,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably a special use of stake, post, perhaps from the post on which a gambling wager was placed,^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) though the OED points out there is no evidence of such a custom.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Weekley suggests a tinge of the burning or baiting metaphor.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, to risk or wager: 1530, in Palsgrave.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The noun, that which is placed at hazard, is from the 1530s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The prize in a contest is by the 1620s, and ''stakes'', the money to be won in a horse race, by the 1690s (compare [[sweepstakes]]).^(Etymonline) An interest, something to gain or lose, is by the 1580s, hence ''have a stake in'' (1784).^(Etymonline) ''At stake'', at hazard, is from about 1600.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1530 – to wager.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – an interest.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – at stake.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1690s – stakes, prize money.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1784 – have a stake in.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sum of money or something valuable risked on a bet; a [[wager]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A share or interest in a business or enterprise.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(stakes)'' Prize money, or a race or contest offering it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To risk money or something valuable on an outcome.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give financial support to.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stakeholder]]

+ * [[sweepstakes]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stick]]

+ * [[attach]]

+ * [[stack]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}