Online Etymology Dictionary

stark-naked (adj.): 1520s, deformed (by influence of stark (adj.)) from Middle English start naked (early 13c.), from Old English steort "tail, rump," from Proto-Germanic *stertaz (source also of Old Norse stertr, Danish stjert, Middle Dutch stert, Dutch staart, Old High German sterz, German Sterz), from PIE *sterd-, extended form of root *ster- (1) "stiff, rigid, firm, strong" (see stereo-). Hence British slang starkers "naked" (1923).
starless (adj.): late 14c., from star (n.) + -less.
starlet (n.): 1825, "small star," from star (n.) + diminutive suffix -let. Meaning "promising young female performer" is from 1911 [Italian soprano Emma Trentini (1878-1959), so called in "The Theatre" magazine, March 1911].
starlight (n.): also star-light, late 14c., from star (n.) + light (n.).
starling (n.): "Sturnus vulgaris," Old English stærlinc "starling," with diminutive suffix -linc + stær "starling," from Proto-Germanic *staraz (source also of Old English stearn, Old Norse stari, Norwegian stare, Old High German stara, German star "starling"), from PIE *storo- "starling" (source also of Latin sturnus "starling," Old Prussian starnite "gull").
starry (adj.): late 14c., from star (n.) + -y (2). Starry-eyed "unrealistically optimistic" is attested from 1884; earlier descriptive of bright eyes. Related: Starrily; starriness.
Stars and Stripes (n.): "American flag," attested from 1782. Stars and Bars as a name for the Confederate flag is attested from 1863.
starscape (n.): 1883, from star (n.) + scape (n.1).
starship (n.): "space ship," 1934 (in "Astounding Stories"), from star (n.) + ship (n.). Earlier in reference to celebrity.
start (n.): late 14c., "an involuntary movement of the body, a sudden jump," from start (v.). Meaning "act of beginning to move or act" is from 1560s. Meaning "act of beginning to build a house" is from 1946. That of "opportunity at the beginning of a career or course of action" is from 1849. Paired with finish (n.) at least from 1839. False start first attested 1850.
start (v.): Old English *steortian, *stiertan, Kentish variants of styrtan "to leap up" (related to starian "to stare"), from Proto-Germanic *stert- (source also of Old Frisian stirta "to fall, tumble," Middle Dutch sterten, Dutch storten "to rush, fall," Old High German sturzen, German stürzen "to hurl, throw, plunge"), of uncertain origin. According to Watkins, the notion is "move briskly, move swiftly," and it is from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff."

From "move or spring suddenly," sense evolved by late 14c. to "awaken suddenly, flinch or recoil in alarm," and by 1660s to "cause to begin acting or operating." Meaning "begin to move, leave, depart" (without implication of suddenness) is from 1821. The connection probably is from sporting senses ("to force an animal from its lair," late 14c.). Transitive sense of "set in motion or action" is from 1670s; specifically as "to set (machinery) in action" from 1841.

Related: Started; starting. To start something "cause trouble" is 1915, American English colloquial. To start over "begin again" is from 1912. Starting-line in running is from 1855; starting-block in running first recorded 1937.
start-up (n.): also startup, 1550s, "upstart," from verbal phrase (attested from c. 1200 in sense "rise up;" 1590s as "come suddenly into being"); see start (v.) + up (adv.). Meaning "action of starting up" is from 1845. See start (v.) + up (adv.).
starter (n.): c. 1400, stertour "instigator; one who starts," agent noun from start (v.). Mechanical sense is from 1875. For starters "to begin with" is 1873, American English colloquial. Starter home is from 1976; starter set is from 1946, originally of china.
startle (v.): c. 1300, "run to and fro" (intransitive), frequentative of sterten (see start (v.)). Sense of "move suddenly in surprise or fear" first recorded 1520s. Transitive meaning "frighten suddenly" is from 1590s. The word retains more of the original meaning of start (v.). Related: Startled; startling; startlingly. As a noun from 1714.
starvation (n.): 1778, hybrid noun of action from starve. Famously (but not certainly) introduced in English by Henry Dundas during debate in the House of Commons in 1775 on American affairs. It earned him the nickname "Starvation Dundas," though sources disagree on whether this was given in objection to the harshness of his suggestion of starving the rebels into submission or in derision at the barbarous formation of the word. It is one of the earliest instances of -ation used with a native Germanic word (flirtation is earlier).
As to Lord Chatham, the victories, conquests, extension of our empire within these last five years, will annihilate his fame of course, and he may be replaced by Starvation Dundas, whose pious policy suggested that the devil of rebellion could be expelled only by fasting, though that never drove him out of Scotland. [Horace Walpole, letter to the Rev. William Mason, April 25, 1781]
starve (v.): Old English steorfan "to die" (past tense stearf, past participle storfen), literally "become stiff," from Proto-Germanic *sterban "be stiff" (source also of Old Frisian sterva, Old Saxon sterban, Dutch sterven, Old High German sterban "to die," Old Norse stjarfi "tetanus"), from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff, rigid" (see stereo-).

The conjugation became weak in English by 16c. The sense narrowed to "die of cold" (14c.); transitive meaning "to kill with hunger" is first recorded 1520s (earlier to starve of hunger, early 12c.). Intransitive sense of "to die of hunger" dates from 1570s. German cognate sterben retains the original sense of the word, but the English has come so far from its origins that starve to death (1910) is now common.
starveling (n.): "starving or starved person," 1540s, from starve (v.) + diminutive suffix -ling. As an adjective, "weak from hunger," from 1590s.
stash (v.): "to conceal, hide," 1797, criminals' slang, of unknown origin, perhaps a blend of stow and cache. Related: Stashed; stashing.
stash (n.): "hoard, cache," 1914, from stash (v.). Slang sense of "personal supply of narcotics" is from 1942.
stasis (n.): "stoppage of circulation," 1745, from medical Latin, from Greek stasis "a standing still, a standing; the posture of standing; a position, a point of the compass; position, state, or condition of anything;" also "a party, a company, a sect," especially one for seditious purposes; related to statos "placed," verbal adjective of histemi "cause to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet).
stat (n.): "instrument that keeps something stationary," before 1970, shortened form of Latin statim (adv.) "steadily, regularly; at once, immediately," from status (see state (n.1)). Perhaps originally "to a standstill." As an abbreviation of statistic, from 1961. Related: Stats.
state (v.): 1590s, "to set in a position," from state (n.1); the sense of "declare in words" is first attested 1640s, from the notion of "placing" something on the record. Related: Stated; stating.
state (n.2): "political organization of a country, supreme civil power, government," c. 1300, from special use of state (n.1); this sense grew out of the meaning "condition of a country" with regard to government, prosperity, etc. (late 13c.), from Latin phrases such as status rei publicæ "condition (or existence) of the republic."

The sense of "a semi-independent political entity under a federal authority, one of the bodies politic which together make up a federal republic" is from 1774. The British North American colonies occasionally were called states as far back as 1630s; the States has been short for "the United States of America" since 1777; also of the Netherlands. State rights in U.S. political sense is attested from 1798; form states rights is first recorded 1858. Church and state have been contrasted from 1580s. State-socialism attested from 1850.
state (n.1): c. 1200, "circumstances, position in society, temporary attributes of a person or thing, conditions," from Old French estat "position, condition; status, stature, station," and directly from Latin status "a station, position, place; way of standing, posture; order, arrangement, condition," figuratively "standing, rank; public order, community organization," noun of action from past participle stem of stare "to stand" from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Some Middle English senses are via Old French estat (French état; see estate).

The Latin word was adopted into other modern Germanic languages (German, Dutch staat) but chiefly in the political senses only. Meaning "physical condition as regards form or structure" is attested from late 13c. Meaning "mental or emotional condition" is attested from 1530s (phrase state of mind first attested 1749); colloquial sense of "agitated or perturbed state" is from 1837.
He [the President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. [U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section iii]
state-house (n.): 1630s, American English, "a building used for public business," from state (n.2) + house (n.).
state-of-the-art (adj.): 1961, from noun phrase (1816), from state (n.1) + art (n.).
statecraft (n.): "the art of government," 1640s, from state (n.2) + craft (n.).
statehood (n.): 1819, from state (n.) + -hood.
stateless (adj.): c. 1600, from state (n.2) + -less. Related: Statelessly; statelessness.
stately (adj.): "noble, splendid," late 14c., from -ly (1) + state (n.1) in a sense of "costly and imposing display" (such as benefits a person of rank and wealth), attested from early 14c. This sense also is preserved in the phrase lie in state "be ceremoniously exposed to view before interment" (1705). Hence also stateroom. Related: Stateliness.
statement (n.): 1775, "what is stated," from state (v.) + -ment. From 1789 as "action of stating;" 1885 in the commercial sense "document displaying debits and credits."
stater (n.): ancient coin, late 14c., from Greek stater, from histanai "to fix, to place in a balance," hence "to weigh;" literally "to cause to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand, set down, make or be firm" (see stet). Once the name of a specific issue of coin, in ancient Greece it became a general name for the principal or standard coin in any place.
stateroom (n.): also state-room, 1703, room reserved for ceremonial occasions; earlier (1650s) "a captain's cabin;" from room (n.) + state (n.1) in a sense also preserved in stately.
stateside (adj.): also state-side, 1944, World War II U.S. military slang, from the States "United States" (see state (n.2)) + side.
statesman (n.): 1590s, after French homme d'état; see state (n.1) + man (n.). Related: Statesmanly; statesmanship. Stateswoman attested from c. 1600.
static (adj.): 1630s, "pertaining to the science of weight and its mechanical effects," from Modern Latin statica, from Greek statikos "causing to stand, skilled in weighing," from stem of histanai "to make to stand, set; to place in the balance, weigh," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Earlier statical (1560s). The sense of "having to do with bodies at rest or with forces that balance each other" is first recorded 1802. Applied to frictional electricity from 1839.
static (n.): "random radio noise," 1912, from static (adj.). Figurative sense of "aggravation, criticism" is attested from 1926.
statics (n.): branch of mechanics which treats of stresses and strains, 1650s, from Modern Latin statica (see static); also see -ics. Related: Statical; statically.
station (n.): late 13c., "place which one normally occupies," from Old French stacion, estacion "site, location; station of the Cross; stop, standstill," from Latin stationem (nominative statio) "a standing, standing firm; a post, job, position; military post; a watch, guard, sentinel; anchorage, port" (related to stare "to stand"), from PIE *ste-ti-, suffixed form of root *stā- "to stand" (see stet).

Meaning "each of a number of holy places visited in succession by pilgrims" is from late 14c., as in Station of the Cross (1550s). Meaning "fixed uniform distance in surveying" is from 1570s. Sense of "status, rank" is from c. 1600. Meaning "military post" in English is from c. 1600. The meaning "place where people are stationed for some special purpose" (as in polling station) is first recorded 1823. Radio station is from 1912; station break, pause in broadcasting to give the local station a chance to identify itself, is from 1942.

The meaning "regular stopping place" is first recorded 1797, in reference to coach routes; applied to railroads 1830. Station-master is from 1836. Station wagon in the automobile sense is first recorded 1929, from earlier use for a horse-drawn conveyance that took passengers to and from railroad stations (1894). Station house "police station" is attested from 1836.
station (v.): "to assign a post or position to," 1748, from station (n.). Related: Stationed; stationing.
stationary (adj.): late 14c., "having no apparent motion" (in reference to planets), from Middle French stationnaire "motionless" and directly from Latin stationarius, from the stem of statio "a standing, post, job, position" (see station (n.)). Meaning "unmovable" is from 1620s. In classical Latin, stationarius is recorded only in the sense "of a military station;" the word for "stationary, steady" being statarius.
stationer (n.): "book-dealer, seller of books and paper," early 14c. (late 13c. as a surname), from Medieval Latin stationarius "tradesman who sells from a station or shop," noun use of Latin stationarius (see stationary). Roving peddlers were the norm in the Middle Ages; sellers with a fixed location often were bookshops licensed by universities; hence the word acquired a more specific sense than its etymological one.
stationery (n.): 1727, from stationery wares (c. 1680) "articles sold by a stationer," from stationer "seller of books and paper" (q.v.) + -y (1).
statism (n.): c. 1600, in reference to church-state matters; 1880 as "the art of government;" 1919 as the modern political opposite of individualism; from state (n.) + -ism.
statist (n.): 1580s, "statesman;" 1803, "statistician;" 1976 as "supporter of statism;" 1960 as an adjective in this sense; from state (n.2) + -ist.
statistic (n.): 1852, "one numerical statistic," see statistics. From 1939 in reference to a person (considered as nothing more than an example of some measured quantity).
statistical (adj.): 1787, from statistics + -al (1). Related: Statistically.
statistician (n.): 1801, from statistics + -ian.
statistics (n.): 1770, "science dealing with data about the condition of a state or community" [Barnhart], from German Statistik, popularized and perhaps coined by German political scientist Gottfried Aschenwall (1719-1772) in his "Vorbereitung zur Staatswissenschaft" (1748), from Modern Latin statisticum (collegium) "(lecture course on) state affairs," from Italian statista "one skilled in statecraft," from Latin status (see state (n.2)). OED points out that "the context shows that [Aschenwall] did not regard the term as novel," but current use of it seems to trace to him. Sir John Sinclair is credited with introducing it in English use. Meaning "numerical data collected and classified" is from 1829; hence the study of any subject by means of extensive enumeration. Abbreviated form stats first recorded 1961.
stator (n.): "stationary part of a generator" (opposed to rotor), 1895, from Latin stator, agent noun from stare "to stand" (see stay (v.)). In classical Latin it meant "an orderly, attendant upon a proconsul."