English word origin

Etymology of stunt

Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 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 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To perform a stunt. · To show off; to posture; to flaunt valuables.

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

Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Cognate mentionstuntgml · a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back
Cognate mentionstuntenm · foolish; stupid

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "expansion": "Unknown"
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”)"
    },
    {
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        "To perform a stunt.",
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      ],
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

noun

A daring or dangerous feat, often involving the display of gymnastic skills. · An act or activity viewed as the outcome of a plan or scheme, often malicious or nefarious. · Ellipsis of publicity stunt. · A skill.

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

Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Cognate mentionstuntgml · a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back
Cognate mentionstuntenm · foolish; stupid

This page abbreviates 1 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.

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    },
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      "lang_code": "de",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A check in growth. · That which has been checked in growth; a stunted animal or thing. · A two-year-old whale, which, having been weaned, is lean and yields little blubber.

verb

To check or hinder the growth or development of.

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

From dialectal stunt (“stubborn, dwarfed”), from Middle English stont, stunt (“short, brief”), from Old English stunt (“stupid, foolish, simple”), from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz (“short, compact, stupid, dull”). Cognate with Middle High German stunz (“short”), Old Norse stuttr (“short in stature, dwarfed”). Related to Old English styntan (“to make dull, stupefy, become dull, repress”). More at stint.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionstontenm
Derivation mentionstuntang
Derivation mention*stuntazgem-pro
Cognate mentionstunzgmh
Cognate mentionstuttrnon
Cognate mentionstyntanang

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 stunt →

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-c3R1bnQ