stein-

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See also: stein, -stein, and Stein

German

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Etymology

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From Stein (stone). Originally used in semantically transparent forms like steinalt (stone-old), steinhart (stone-hard), steintaub (stone-deaf), steintot (stone-dead), etc. Then generalised to other adjectives without a semantic relation to the basic word, such as steinreich (literally stone-rich). See the same in Dutch steengoed (literally stone-good), Icelandic steinóður (literally stone-mad). Compare further German stock-.

Prefix

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stein-

  1. (colloquial) very

Derived terms

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References

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  • stein-” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic

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Etymology

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Ultimately an intensifier related to steinn (stone), as in calling someone "stone-deaf," or the phrase steinn óður (stone mad).[1] Compare Danish sten-, German stein-.

Prefix

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stein-

  1. (emphatic) completely, extremely

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Metcalfe, F. (1880). The Englishman and the Scandinavian: Or, A Comparison of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse Literature. United Kingdom: Trübner & Company, p. 446