*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of stuff

From Middle English stuf, stuffe, from Anglo-Latin stuffa and its etymon Old French estofe, estoffe, estuf, estuffe, stoffe, from estoffer, estofer (“to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff”), borrowed from Old High G

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects. · Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils. · Unspecified things or matters. · The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object.

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

From Middle English stuf, stuffe, from Anglo-Latin stuffa and its etymon Old French estofe, estoffe, estuf, estuffe, stoffe, from estoffer, estofer (“to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff”), borrowed from Old High German stoffōn, from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn (“to clog up, block, fill”). More at stop.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionstufenm
  • Derivation mentionstuffala
  • Derivation mentionestofefro
  • Derivation mentionstoffōngoh
  • Derivation mention*stoppōngmw-pro · to clog up, block, fill

This page abbreviates 10 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "stuf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English stuf"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "stuffa"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin stuffa"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "estofe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French estofe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "stoffōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German stoffōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*stoppōn",
        "t": "to clog up, block, fill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn (“to clog up, block, fill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "¹"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "stuf",
      "stuf#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "stuffe",
      "stuffe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "stuffa",
      "stuffa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "estofe",
      "estofe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estoffe",
      "estoffe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estuf",
      "estuf#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estuffe",
      "estuffe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "stoffe",
      "stoffe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estoffer",
      "estoffer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estofer",
      "estofer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "stoffōn",
      "stoffon#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "*stoppōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stoppōn"
    ],
    [
      "stop",
      "stop#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "word": "stuif",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects.",
        "Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.",
        "Unspecified things or matters.",
        "The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "uncountable",
        "usually",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    }
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 10,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To fill by packing or crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess. · To fill a space with (something) in a compressed manner. · To fill with seasoning. · To load goods into (a container) for transport.

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

From Middle English stuffen (“to equip, furnish”), borrowed from Old French estoffer, estofer (“to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff”), borrowed from Old High German stoffōn, from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn (“to clog up, block, fill”). More at stop.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionstuffenenm · to equip, furnish
  • Derivation mentionestofferfro
  • Derivation mentionstoffōngoh
  • Derivation mention*stoppōngmw-pro · to clog up, block, fill

This page abbreviates 12 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "stuffen",
        "t": "to equip, furnish"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English stuffen (“to equip, furnish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "estoffer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French estoffer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "stoffōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German stoffōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*stoppōn",
        "t": "to clog up, block, fill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn (“to clog up, block, fill”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "stuffen",
      "stuffen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "estoffer",
      "estoffer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "estofer",
      "estofer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "stoffōn",
      "stoffon#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "*stoppōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stoppōn"
    ],
    [
      "stop",
      "stop#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To fill by packing or crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess.",
        "To fill a space with (something) in a compressed manner.",
        "To fill with seasoning.",
        "To load goods into (a container) for transport."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "8a1814c4a2409d3eebf7531551d2cb961df6640a1c646c01d9f6ca246acffa67",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6a2d240fc467a5e36c768be910b6cb1cf2532a175fab7801b409d2ccb3789ecc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 174996
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 12,
    "glosses": 0
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}

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 stuff →

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-c3R1ZmY