Online Etymology Dictionary

stud (n.1): "nailhead, knob," late 13c., from Old English studu "pillar, prop, post," from Proto-Germanic *stud- (source also of Old Norse stoð "staff, stick," properly "stay," Middle High German stud, Old English stow "place"), from PIE *stu-, variant of root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Sense expanded by late 14c. to include ornamental devices fixed in and projecting from a surface. From the Old English meaning comes the specific sense "one of the small beams of a building which form a basis for the walls."
stud (n.2): "horse used for breeding," Old English stod "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding," from Proto-Germanic *stodo (source also of Old Norse stoð, Middle Low German stod, Old High German stuot "herd of horses," German Stute "mare"), from PIE root *sta- "to stand," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (source also of Old Church Slavonic stado "herd," Lithuanian stodas "a drove of horses;" see stet). Sense of "male horse kept for breeding" is first recorded 1803; meaning "man who is highly active and proficient sexually" is attested from 1895; that of "any young man" is from 1929. Stud-poker (1864) is said to be from stud-horse poker, but that phrase is not found earlier than 1879.
stud (v.): c. 1500, "set with studs;" 1560s in studded with "as though sprinkled with nails with conspicuous heads;" from stud (n.1).
student (n.): late 14c., from Old French estudiant "student, scholar, one who is studying" (Modern French étudiant), noun use of past participle of estudiier, from Medieval Latin studiare "to study," from Latin studium (see study (v.)). An Old English word for it was leorningcild "student, disciple." Student-teacher of a teacher in training working in a classroom is from 1851, American English.
studied (adj.): 1520s, "learned;" c. 1600, "studiously elaborate," past participle adjective from study (v.).
studio (n.): 1819, "work-room of a sculptor or painter," usually one with windows to admit light from the sky, from Italian studio "room for study," from Latin studium (see study (v.)). Motion picture sense first recorded 1911; radio broadcasting sense 1922; television sense 1938. Studio apartment first recorded 1903.
studious (adj.): mid-14c. (implied in studiously) "zealous, diligent, eager," from Latin studiosus "devoted to study, assiduous, zealous," from studium "eagerness, zeal" (see study). From late 14c. as "eager to learn, devoted to learning," also, as noun, "those who study or read diligently." Related: Studiousness.
studly (adj.): by 1971, American English, from stud (n.2) in the "virile male" sense + -ly (1). Related: Studliness.
study (v.): early 12c., "to strive toward, devote oneself to, cultivate" (translating Latin occupatur), from Old French estudiier "to study, apply oneself, show zeal for; examine" (13c., Modern French étudier), from Medieval Latin studiare, from Latin studium "study, application," originally "eagerness," from studere "to be diligent," from PIE *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)). The notion appears to be "pressing forward, thrusting toward," hence "strive after."
Martha swanc and becarcade to geforðigene þan Hælende and his þeowen þa lichamlice behefðen. Seo studdede emb þa uterlice þing. [Homily for the Feast of the Virgin Mary, c.1125]
From c. 1300 as "apply oneself to the acquisition of learning, pursue a formal course of study," also "read a book or writings intently or meditatively." From mid-14c. as "reflect, muse, think, ponder." Meaning "regard attentively" is from 1660s. Related: Studied; studying.
study (n.): c. 1300, "application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, intensive reading and contemplation of a book, writings, etc.," from Old French estudie "care, attention, skill, thought; study, school" (Modern French étude), from Latin studium "study, application" (see study (v.)). Also from c. 1300 as "a state of deep thought or contemplation; a state of mental perplexity, doubt, anxiety; state of amazement or wonder." From mid-14c. as "careful examination, scrutiny." Sense of "room furnished with books" is from late 14c. Meaning "a subject of study" is from late 15c. Study hall is attested from 1891, originally a large common room in a college.
stuff (v.): mid-14c., "furnish with" (goods, provisions, etc.), also "reinforce" (troops), from Old French estofer "pad, upholster, fit out" (Modern French étoffer), from estoffe, and probably also in part from stuff (n.).

From c. 1400 as "fill, cram full; fill (the belly) with food or drink, gorge;" from early 15c. as "to clog" (the sinuses, etc.); from late 14c. as "fill (a mattress, etc.) with padding, line with padding;" also in the cookery sense, in reference to filing the interior of a pastry or the cavity of a fowl or beast. The ballot-box sense is attested from 1854, American English; in expressions of contempt and suggestive of bodily orifices, it dates from 1952.
stuff (n.): early 14c., "quilted material worn under chain mail," from Old French estoffe "quilted material, furniture, provisions" (Modern French étoffe), from estoffer "to equip or stock," which according to French sources is from Old High German stopfon "to plug, stuff," or from a related Frankish word (see stop (v.)), but OED has "strong objections" to this.

Sense extended to material for working with in various trades (c. 1400), then "matter of an unspecified kind" (1570s). Meaning "narcotic, dope, drug" is attested from 1929. To know (one's) stuff "have a grasp on a subject" is recorded from 1927.
stuffed (adj.): mid-15c., in reference to garments, "padded with stuffing," past participle adjective from stuff- (v.). Hence stuffed shirt "pompous, ineffectual person" (1913).
stuffing (n.): 1520s, "material used for filling a cushion;" 1530s, "seasoned mixture used to stuff fowls before cooking," verbal noun from stuff (v.) in the sense "fill the inside of a bird before cooking" (late 14c.).
stuffy (adj.): 1550s, "full of stuff, full of substance" (obsolete); 1831 as "poorly ventilated;" from stuff (n.) + -y (2). Sense of "pompous, smug" is from 1895. Related: Stuffily; stuffiness.
Stuka (n.): German dive bomber of World War II, 1940, from German shortening of Sturzkampfflugzeug, from Sturz "fall" + Kampf "battle" + Flugzeug "aircraft."
stultification (n.): 1803, noun of action from stultify.
stultify (v.): 1766, "allege to be of unsound mind" (legal term), from Late Latin stultificare "turn into foolishness," from Latin stultus "foolish" (literally "uneducated, unmovable," from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand") + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). The first element is cognate with Latin stolidus "slow, dull, obtuse" (see stolid). Meaning "cause to appear foolish or absurd" is from 1809. Hence stultiloquy "foolish talk, silly babbling" (1650s). Related: Stultified; stultifying.
stumble (v.): c. 1300, "to trip or miss one's footing" (physically or morally), probably from a Scandinavian source (compare dialectal Norwegian stumla, Swedish stambla "to stumble"), probably from a variant of the Proto-Germanic base *stam-, source of Old English stamerian "to stammer," German stumm, Dutch stom "dumb, silent." Possibly influenced in form by stumpen "to stumble," but the -b- may be purely euphonious. Meaning "to come (upon) by chance" is attested from 1550s. Related: Stumbled; stumbling. Stumbling-block first recorded 1526 (Tindale), used in Rom. xiv:13, where usually it translates Greek skandalon.
stumble (n.): 1540s, "act of stumbling," from stumble (v.). Meaning "a failure, false step" is from 1640s.
stumblebum (n.): "alcoholic derelict," 1932, from stumble (v.) + bum (n.2).
stump (v.): early 13c., "to stumble over a tree-stump or other obstacle" (obsolete), from the source of stump (n.). From 1590s as "reduce to a stump." Sense of "walk stiffly and clumsily" is first recorded c. 1600. Sense of "baffle, bring to a halt by obstacles or impediments" is first recorded 1807, American English, perhaps in reference to plowing newly cleared land, but compare earlier sense "to challenge, dare" (1766).

Meaning "go on a speaking tour during a political campaign" is from 1838, American English, from phrase stump speech (1820), large tree stumps being a natural perch for rural orators (this custom is attested from 1775), especially in new settlements. Related: Stumped; stumping.
stump (n.): "part of a tree trunk left in the ground after felling," mid-15c. (implied from late 13c. in surnames); from mid-14c. as "remaining part of a severed arm or leg;" from or cognate with Middle Low German stump (from adjective meaning "mutilated, blunt, dull"), Middle Dutch stomp "stump," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stumpr, Old High German stumph, German stumpf "stump," German Stummel "piece cut off"), from PIE *stebh- "post, stem; to support" (see step (v.).
stumpy (adj.): c. 1600, from stump (n.) + -y (2). In reference to persons of stump-like figure, from 1822.
stun (v.): early 14c., "to daze or render unconscious" (from a blow, powerful emotion, etc.), probably a shortening of Old French estoner "to stun" (see astonish). Related: Stunned; stunning.
stung: past tense and past participle of sting (v.).
stunk: past tense and past participle of stink (v.).
stunner (n.): 1829, in pugilism, agent noun from stun. Meaning "beautiful woman" attested by 1848 on notion of "one who astounds or amazes."
stunning (adj.): 1660s, "dazzling," present participle adjective from stun (v.). Popularized for "splendid, excellent" c. 1849. Related: Stunningly.
stunt (v.): "check in growth, dwarf," 1650s, earlier "bring to an abrupt halt" (c. 1600); "provoke, anger, irritate" (1580s), from obsolete Middle English adjective stunt "foolish, stupid; obstinate," from Old English stunt "stupid, foolish" (as in stuntspræc "foolish talk"), from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz "short, truncated" (source also of Middle High German stunz "short, blunt, stumpy," Old Norse stuttr (*stuntr) "scanty, short"), an adjective which stands in gradational relationship to stint (v.).

The modern sense of the English word is from influence of the Old Norse word. The Middle English adjective is attested from mid-15c. in the sense "of short duration." Related: Stunted; stunting.
stunt (n.): "feat to attract attention," 1878, American English college sports slang, of uncertain origin. Speculated to be a variant of colloquial stump "dare, challenge" (1871), or of German stunde, literally "hour." The movie stunt man is attested from 1930.
stupe (n.): "stupid person," 1762, shortening of stupid.
stupefaction (n.): early 15c., from Medieval Latin stupefactionem (nominative stupefactio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin stupefacere (see stupefy).
stupefy (v.): early 15c., from Latin stupefacere "make stupid or senseless, benumb, stun," from stupere "be stunned" (see stupid) + facere "to make" (see factitious).
stupendous (adj.): 1660s, correction of earlier stupendious "causing astonishment, astounding" (1540s), from Late Latin stupendus "to be wondered at," gerundive of Latin stupere "be stunned, be struck senseless, be aghast, astounded, or amazed" (see stupid). Related: Stupendously; stupendousness.
stupid (adj.): 1540s, "mentally slow, lacking ordinary activity of mind, dull, inane," from Middle French stupide (16c.) and directly from Latin stupidus "amazed, confounded; dull, foolish," literally "struck senseless," from stupere "be stunned, amazed, confounded," from PIE *stupe- "hit," from root *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)). Related: Stupidly; stupidness.

Native words for this idea include negative compounds with words for "wise" (Old English unwis, unsnotor, ungleaw), also dol (see dull (adj.)), and dysig (see dizzy (adj.)). Stupid retained its association with stupor and its overtones of "stunned by surprise, grief, etc." into mid-18c. The difference between stupid and the less opprobrious foolish roughly parallels that of German töricht vs. dumm but does not exist in most European languages.
stupidity (n.): 1540s, "want of intelligence," from Latin stupiditatem (nominative stupiditas) "dullness, stupidity, senselessness," from stupidus "confounded, amazed; dull, foolish" (see stupid). It also at various times meant "lack of feeling or emotion" (1560s); "stupor, numbness" (c. 1600).
stupor (n.): late 14c., from Latin stupor "insensibility, numbness, dullness," from stupere "be stunned" (see stupid).
stuporous (adj.): 1843, from stupor + -ous. Related: Stuporously; stuporousness.
sturdy (adj.): c. 1300, "hard to manage, reckless, violent," from Old French estordi (11c., Modern French étourdi) "violent," originally "dazed," past participle of estordiir "to daze, stun, stupefy," from Vulgar Latin *exturdire, which some presume to be from Latin intensive prefix ex- + turdus "thrush." Barnhart suggests the notion is of thrushes eating grape remnants at wineries and behaving as if drunk (Italian tordo "thrush" also means "simpleton," and French has the expression soûl comme une grive "drunk as a thrush"). OED, however, regards all this as "open to grave objection." Century Dictionary compares Latin torpidus "dull."

Sense of "solidly built, strong and hardy" first recorded late 14c. Related: Sturdily; sturdiness. Sturdy-boots "obstinate person" is from 1762; a sturdy beggar in old language was one capable of work (c. 1400).
sturgeon (n.): c. 1300, from Anglo-French sturgeon, Old French esturjon, from Frankish *sturjo- or another Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *sturjon- (source also of Old High German sturio "sturgeon," Old English styria). Cognate with Lithuanian ersketras, Russian osetr "sturgeon;" the whole group is of obscure origin, perhaps from a lost pre-Indo-European tongue of northern Europe, or from the root of stir (v.). Medieval Latin sturio, Italian storione, Spanish esturion are Germanic loan-words.
Sturm und Drang (n.): 1844, literally "storm and stress," late 18c. German romanticism period, taken from the title of a 1776 romantic drama by Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger (1752-1831), who gave it this name at the suggestion of Christoph Kauffmann. See storm (n.) + throng (n.).
Sturmabteilung (n.): 1923, from German, literally "storm detachment;" paramilitary force of the Nazi Party, founded 1921, repressed 1934, also know by its initials, S.A.; also see Brown Shirt.
stutter (v.): 1560s, frequentative form of stutt "to stutter," from Middle English stutten "to stutter, stammer" (late 14c.), cognate with Middle Low German stoten "to knock, strike against, collide," from Proto-Germanic *staut- "push, thrust" (source also of Old Saxon stotan, Old High German stozan, Gothic stautan "to push, thrust;" German stutzen "to cut short, curtail; to stop short, hesitate," Dutch stuiten "to stop, check, arrest, stem."), from PIE *(s)teu- (1) "to hit, beat, knock against" (see steep (adj.)). The noun is attested from 1854. Related: Stuttered; stuttering; stutterer.
sty (n.1): "pen for pigs," Old English sti, stig "hall, pen" (as in sti-fearh "sty-pig"), from Proto-Germanic *stijan (source also of Old Norse stia "sty, kennel," Danish sti, Swedish stia "pen for swine, sheep, goats, etc.," Old High German stiga "pen for small cattle"). Meaning "filthy hovel" is from 1590s.
sty (n.2): "inflamed swelling in the eyelid," 1610s, probably a back-formation from Middle English styany (as though sty on eye), mid-15c., from Old English stigend "sty," literally "riser," from present participle of stigan "go up, rise," from Proto-Germanic *stigan, from PIE root *steigh- "to stride, step, rise" (see stair).
sty (v.): "go up, ascend" (obsolete), Old English stigan (past tense stah, past participle stigun, common Germanic (Old Norse, Old Frisian stiga, Middle Dutch stighen, Old Saxon, Old High German stigan, German steigen, Gothic steigan), from PIE root *steigh- "go, rise, stride, step, walk" (see stair).
Stygian (adj.): "pertaining to Styx or the nether world," 1560s, from Latin Stygius, from Greek Stygios, from Styx (genitive Stygos); see Styx.
style (v.): c. 1500, "address with a title;" 1560s, "to give a name to," from style (n.). Meaning "to arrange in (fashionable) style" (especially of hair) is attested from 1934. Slang sense of "act or play in a showy way" is by 1974, African-American vernacular. Related: Styled; styling.
style (n.): early 14c., stile, "writing instrument, pen, stylus; piece of written discourse, a narrative, treatise;" also "characteristic rhetorical mode of an author, manner or mode of expression," and "way of life, manner, behavior, conduct," from Old French stile, estile "style, fashion, manner; a stake, pale," from Latin stilus "stake, instrument for writing, manner of writing, mode of expression," perhaps from the same source as stick (v.)). Spelling modified incorrectly by influence of Greek stylos "pillar," which probably is not directly related. As distinguished from substance, 1570s. Meaning "mode of dress" is from 1814.