*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of shtum

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stummaz Proto-West Germanic *stumm Old High German stum Middle High German stum Yiddish שטום (shtum)bor. English shtum Borrowed from Yiddish שטום (shtum, “mute, dumb, voiceless”), from Midd

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Silent; speechless; dumb.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stummaz Proto-West Germanic *stumm Old High German stum Middle High German stum Yiddish שטום (shtum)bor. English shtum Borrowed from Yiddish שטום (shtum, “mute, dumb, voiceless”), from Middle High German stum, from Old High German stum, from Proto-West Germanic *stumm. Cognate with German stumm, Dutch stom, Swedish stum. Doublet of stum.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionשטוםyi
  • Derivation mentionstumgmh
  • Derivation mentionstumgoh
  • Derivation mention*stummgmw-pro
  • Cognate mentionstummde
  • Cognate mentionstomnl
  • Cognate mentionstumsv
  • Doublet mentionstumen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "yi:שטום",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *stummaz\nProto-West Germanic *stumm\nOld High German stum\nMiddle High German stum\nYiddish שטום (shtum)bor.\nEnglish shtum\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*stummaz\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*stumm\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old High German\", \"term\" : \"stum\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"goh\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle High German\", \"term\" : \"stum\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmh\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Yiddish\", \"term\" : \"שטום\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"yi\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"shtum\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"shtum\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "שטום",
        "4": "",
        "5": "mute, dumb, voiceless"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish שטום (shtum, “mute, dumb, voiceless”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "stum"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German stum"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "stum"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German stum"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*stumm"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *stumm"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "stumm"
      },
      "expansion": "German stumm"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "stom"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch stom"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "stum"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish stum"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "stum"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of stum"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "yi:שטום",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *stummaz\nProto-West Germanic *stumm\nOld High German stum\nMiddle High German stum\nYiddish שטום (shtum)bor.\nEnglish shtum"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*stummaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/stummaz"
    ],
    [
      "*stumm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stumm"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "שטום",
      "שטום#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "שטום",
      "שטום#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "*stumm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stumm"
    ],
    [
      "stumm",
      "stumm#German"
    ],
    [
      "stom",
      "stom#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "stum",
      "stum#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Silent; speechless; dumb."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "50bb8d7814fe8d0f1251a0c617fc55a8c1caaf61205298c760e56802a2757800",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9374d26f5d671f205c6a56d789b84d76147c2b6af155f8aa8f47126f996ec807",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 446998
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for shtum →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c2h0dW0