*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of stad

From Afrikaans and Dutch stad (“city, town”), from Middle Dutch stat, from Old Dutch stad, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, position”). Doublet of stead.

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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 ↗
noun

town, village

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

From Afrikaans and Dutch stad (“city, town”), from Middle Dutch stat, from Old Dutch stad, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, position”). Doublet of stead.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*steh₂-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "af",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "stad",
        "4": "",
        "5": "city, town"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch stad (“city, town”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "stat"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch stat"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "odt",
        "3": "stad"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Dutch stad"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*stadiz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "place"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*stéh₂tis",
        "4": "",
        "5": "standing, position"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing, position”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "stead"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of stead"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "stad",
      "stad#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "city",
      "city"
    ],
    [
      "town",
      "town"
    ],
    [
      "stat",
      "stat#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "stad",
      "stad#Old_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "*stadiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/stadiz"
    ],
    [
      "place",
      "place"
    ],
    [
      "*stéh₂tis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/stéh₂tis"
    ],
    [
      "standing",
      "standing"
    ],
    [
      "position",
      "position"
    ],
    [
      "stead",
      "stead#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "town, village"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "recordId": "e49b592c3f805a93be29d893f569d11cf8f3d48ec89aec9a6e8244a7c5d479a9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "208a905a455092ebe7e5ba5a810f59c1259d75db7f36721a5d87fb5a4d9a476b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 257807
    }
  ],
  "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 stad →

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-c3RhZA