stalk

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[edit] English

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[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

Middle English stalke, diminutive of stale 'ladder upright, stalk', from Old English stalu 'wooden upright', from Proto-Germanic *stalōn (compare Middle Low German stal, stale 'chair leg'), variant of *steluz, stelōn 'stalk' (compare Old English stela, Dutch steel, German Stiel, Danish stilk), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (compare Welsh telm 'frond', Ancient Greek stélos 'beam', Old Armenian ստեղն (stełn) 'trunk, stalk').

[edit] Noun

stalk (plural stalks)

  1. The longish piece that supports the seed-carrying parts of a plant.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

Middle English stalken, from Old English -stealcian (as in Old English bestealcian 'to move stealthily', stealcung 'stalking'), from Proto-Germanic *stalkōnan 'to move stealthily' (compare Dutch stelkeren, stolkeren 'to tip-toe, tread carefully', Danish stalke 'to high step, stalk', Norwegian dialectal stalka 'to trudge'), from *stalkaz, stelkaz (compare Old English stealc 'steep', Old Norse stelkr, stjalkr 'knot (bird), red sandpiper'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telg, *(s)tolg- (compare Middle Irish tolg 'strength', Lithuanian stalgùs 'stiff, defiant, proud').[1]

Alternate etymology connects Proto-Germanic *stalkōjanan 'to stalk, move stealthily', to a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *stelanan 'to steal'.

[edit] Verb

stalk (third-person singular simple present stalks, present participle stalking, simple past and past participle stalked)

  1. To approach slowly and quietly in order not to be discovered when getting closer.
  2. To (try to) follow or contact someone constantly, often resulting in harassment.
[edit] Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Noun

stalk (plural stalks)

  1. A particular episode of trying to follow or contact someone.
  2. (of wild animals) A hunt.
[edit] Related terms

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robert K. Barnhart and Sol Steinmetz, eds., Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, s.v. "stalk2" (New York: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd., 2006), 1057.

[edit] Etymology 3

1530, 'to walk haughtily', perhaps from Old English stealc 'steep', from Proto-Germanic *stelkaz, *stalkaz 'high, lofty, steep, stiff'; see above

[edit] Verb

stalk (third-person singular simple present stalks, present participle stalking, simple past and past participle stalked)

  1. (intransitive) To walk haughtily.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Anagrams


[edit] Dutch

[edit] Verb

stalk

  1. first-person singular present indicative of stalken.
  2. imperative of stalken.
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