Etymology
1. O.E.
*steortian, *stiertan, Kentish variants of
styrtan "to leap up" (related to
starian "to stare"), from P.Gmc.
*sturtjan- (cf. O.Fris.
stirta "to fall, tumble," M.Du.
sterten, Du.
storten "to rush, fall," O.H.G.
sturzen, Ger.
stürzen "to hurl, throw, plunge"), of unknown origin. From "move or spring suddenly," sense evolved by c.1386 to "awaken suddenly, flinch or recoil in alarm," and 1666 to "cause to begin acting or operating." Meaning "begin to move, leave, depart" is from 1821. The connection is probably from sporting senses ("to force an animal from its lair," c.1384). To
start something "cause trouble" is 1917, Amer.Eng. colloquial.
For starters "to begin with" is 1873, Amer.Eng. colloquial.
Starter home is from 1976;
starter set is from 1946, originally of china.
Starting block first recorded 1937.
2. From Middle English sterten (“to leap up suddenly, rush out”), from Old English styrtan (“to leap up, start”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan (“to startle, move, set in motion”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ter- (“to be stiff”). Cognate with Old Frisian stirta (“to fall down, tumble”), Middle Dutch sterten (“to rush, fall, collapse”) (Dutch storten), Old High German sturzen (“to hurl, plunge, turn upside down”) (German stürzen), Old High German sterzan (“to be stiff, protrude”). More at stare. See: Middle English '
sterten', Dutch '
storten', German, old spelling '
stürzen', Old High German 'sterzan'.
Verbs referencing "start"
French
starter, German, old spelling
starten, Norwegian, nynorsk
starta, Finnish with old forms
startata, Ido startar, Danish
starte, Norwegian
starte, Danish
styrte.