Online Etymology Dictionary

statue (n.): c.1300, from Old French statue (12c.), from Latin statua "image, statue," prop. "that which is set up," back-formation from statuere "to cause to stand, set up," from status "a standing, position," from stare "to stand" (see stet). The children's game of statues is attested from 1906.
statuesque (adj.): early 1820s, from statue, patterned on picturesque.
statuette (n.): 1843, from statue with French diminutive ending -ette.
stature (n.): c.1300, "height," from Old French stature, from Latin statura "height, size of body, size, growth," from stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (see stet). Figurative sense first recorded 1834.
status (n.): 1670s, "height," later "legal standing of a person" (1791), from Latin status "condition, position, state, manner, attitude," from stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Sense of "social or professional standing" is from 1820. Status symbol first recorded 1955.
status quo (n.): 1833, from Latin status quo "the state in which," hence "existing state of affairs." Also status quo ante "the state in which before, state of affairs previous" (1877).
statute (n.): late 13c., from Old French statut, from Late Latin statutum "a law, decree," noun use of neuter past participle of Latin statuere "enact, establish," from status "condition, position," from stare "to stand" from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).
statutory (adj.): "pertaining to statues," 1717, from statute + -ory. Statutory rape attested from 1898; in U.S., "sexual intercourse with a female below the legal age of consent, whether forced or not."
staunch (adj.): early 15c., "impervious to water," from Old French estanche "firm, watertight," fem. of estanc "dried, exhausted, wearied, vanquished," from Vulgar Latin *stanticare, probably from Latin stans (genitive stantis), present participle of stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Sense of "strong, substantial" first recorded mid-15c.; of persons, "standing firm and true to one's principles" from 1620s.
staunchly (adv.): 1825, from staunch + -ly (2).
stave (n.): "piece of a barrel," 1750, back-formation from staves (late 14c.), plural of staff (cf. leaves/leaf), possibly from Old English, but not recorded there. The verb (to stave in, past tense stove) is 1590s, originally nautical, on notion of bashing in the staves of a cask and letting out the contents; stave off (1620s) is literally "keep off with a staff," as of dogs.
stavesacre (n.): herbal plant of the Delphinium family, c.1400, from Latin staphisagria, from Greek staphis agria, literally "wild raisin," from staphis "raisin" + agria, fem. of agrios "wild," literally "living in the fields," from agros "field" (see acre).
stay (v.): "to remain," mid-15c., from Middle French estai-, stem of ester "to stay or stand," from Old French, from Latin stare "to stand" (cf. Italian stare, Spanish estar "to stand, to be"), from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Originally "come to a halt;" sense of "remain" is first recorded 1570s.

Noun senses of "appliance for stopping," "period of remaining in a place," and (judicial) "suspension of proceeding" all developed 1525-1550. Stay-at-home (adj.) is from 1806. Stay put is first recorded 1843, American English. "To stay put is to keep still, remain in order. A vulgar expression" [Bartlett]. Phrase stay the course is originally (1885) in reference to horses holding out till the end of a race.
stay (n.1): "support, prop, brace," 1510s, from Middle French estaie "piece of wood used as a support," perhaps from Frankish *staka "support," from Proto-Germanic *stagaz (cf. Middle Dutch stake "stick," Old English steli "steel" stæg "rope used to support a mast"), from PIE *stak- (see stay (n.2)). If not, then from the root of stay (v.). Stays "laced underbodice" is attested from c.1600.
stay (n.2): "strong rope which supports a ship's mast," from Old English stæg, from Proto-Germanic *stagan (cf. Dutch stag, Low German stach, German Stag, Old Norse stag), from PIE *stak-, ultimately an extended form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). The verb meaning "secure or steady with stays" is first recorded 1620s.
stead (n.): Old English stede "place, position, standing, delay," related to standan "to stand," from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (cf. Old Saxon stedi, Old Norse staðr, Swedish stad, Dutch stede "place," Old High German stat, German Stadt "town," Gothic staþs "place"), from PIE *stetis-, from root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Now chiefly in compounds or phrases. "The sense 'town, city' for G. Stadt is a late development from c.1200 when the term began to replace Burg" [Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names].
steadfast (adj.): Old English stedefæst "secure in position," from stede (see stead) + fæst (see fast (adj.)); cf. Middle Low German stedevast, Old Norse staðfastr. Related: Steadfastly, steadfastness.
steady (adj.): 1520s (replacing earlier steadfast), from stead + adjectival suffix -y (2), perhaps on model of Middle Dutch, Middle Low German stadig. Old English had stæððig "grave, serious," and stedig "barren," but neither seems to be the direct source of the modern word. Old Norse cognate stoðugr "steady, stable" was closer in sense.

Originally of things; of persons or minds from c.1600. Meaning "working at an even rate" is first recorded in 1540s. Steady progress is etymologically a contradiction in terms. Steady state first attested 1885; as a cosmological theory (propounded by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle), it is attested from 1948.
steady (v.): 1520s, from steady (adj.). Related: Steadied; steadying.
steady (n.): "one's boyfriend or girlfriend," 1897 from steady (adj.); to go steady is 1905 in teenager slang.
steak (n.): mid-15c., "thick slice of meat cut for roasting," probably from Old Norse steik "roast meat," cognate with steikja "to roast on a spit," and ultimately "something stuck" (on a spit); related to stick (v.).
steal (v.): Old English stelan "to commit a theft" (class IV strong verb; past tense stæl, past participle stolen), from Proto-Germanic *stelanan (cf. Old Saxon stelan, Old Norse, Old Frisian stela, Dutch stelen, Old High German stelan, German stehlen, Gothic stilan), of unknown origin.

Most IE words for steal have roots in notions of "hide," "carry off," or "collect, heap up." Attested as a verb of stealthy motion from c.1300 (e.g. to steal away, late 14c.); of glances, sighs, etc., from 1580s. To steal (someone) blind first recorded 1974.
steal (n.): "a bargain," by 1942, American English colloquial, from steal (v.). Baseball sense of "a stolen base" is from 1867.
stealth (n.): mid-13c., "theft, action or practice of stealing," from Old English *stælþ, which is related to stelen (see steal), from Proto-Germanic *stælitho (cf. Old Norse stulþr). Sense of "secret action" developed c.1300, but the word also retained its etymological sense into 18c. Got a boost as an adjective from stealth fighter, stealth bomber, radar-evading U.S. military aircraft, activated 1983.
stealthy (adj.): c.1600, from stealth + -y (2). Related: Stealthily; stealthiness.
steam (n.): Old English steam "vapor, fume," from Proto-Germanic *staumaz (cf. Dutch stoom), of unknown origin. Steam age first attested 1941. Steam heat as a method of temperature control recorded from 1904.
steam (v.): Old English stemen, stymen "to emit a scent or odor," from the root of steam (n.). Slang meaning "to make angry" is from 1922. Related: Steamed; steaming.
steam engine (n.): 1751; earlier in the same sense was fire engine, atmospheric engine.
steam-roller (n.): also steamroller, 1866, from steam (n.) + roller. As a verb, first recorded 1912. Related: Steam-rollered.
steamboat (n.): 1787, from steam + boat (n.).
steamer (n.): 1814 in the cookery sense, agent noun from steam (v.). From 1825 as "a vessel propelled by steam," hence steamer trunk (1885), one that carries the essentials for a voyage.
steamy (adj.): 1640s, from steam + -y (2); in the sense of "erotic, sexy," it is first recorded 1952. Related: Steamily; steaminess.
stearin (n.): white crystalline compound found in animal and vegetable fats, 1817, from French stéarine, coined by French chemist Marie-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) from Greek stear (genitive steatos) "tallow, fat" (see stone (n.)). Stearic acid (1831) is a partial translation of French acide stéarique.
steatopygia (n.): "abnormal accumulation of fat on the buttocks of certain races," 1822, Modern Latin, from steato- "fat, tallow," from Greek stear (genitive steatos) "solid fat, suet" (see stone (n.)) + Greek pyge "buttocks."
steed (n.): Old English steda "stallion, stud horse," from Proto-Germanic *stodjon (cf. Old Norse stoð), from the root of Old English stod (see stud (2)). In Middle English, "a great horse" (as distinguished from a palfrey), "a spirited war horse." Obsolete from 16c. except in poetic, rhetorical, or jocular language.
steel (n.): Old English style, from West Germanic adjective *stakhlijan "made of steel" (cf. Old Saxon stehli, Old Norse, Middle Low German stal, Danish staal, Swedish stål, Middle Dutch stael, Dutch staal, Old High German stahal, German Stahl), related to *stakhla "standing fast," from PIE *stek-lo-, from root *stak- "to stand, place, be firm" (see stay (n.1)). No corresponding word exists outside Germanic except those likely borrowed from Germanic languages. Steel wool is attested from 1896.
steel (v.): "make hard or strong like steel," 1580s, figurative, from steel (n.). Related: Steeled; steeling.
steely (adj.): 1580s, from steel (n.) + -y (2). Figurative meaning "hard and cold as steel" is from c.1500. Related: Steeliness.
steenbok (n.): 1775, from Afrikaans steenbok, from Middle Dutch steenboc, literally "stone buck," cognate with Old English stanbucca "mountain goat," German Steinbock.
steep (adj.): "having a sharp slope," Old English steap "high, lofty," from Proto-Germanic *staupaz (cf. Old Frisian stap, Middle High German *stouf), from PIE *steup- "to push, stick, knock, beat," with derivations referring to projecting objects (cf. Greek typtein "to strike," typos "a blow, mold, die;" Sanskrit tup- "harm," tundate "pushes, stabs;" Gothic stautan "push;" Old Norse stuttr "short"). The sense of "precipitous" is from c.1200. The slang sense "at a high price" is a U.S. coinage first attested 1856. Related: Steeply; steepness.
steep (v.): "to soak in a liquid," late 14c., of uncertain origin, originally in reference to barley or malt, probably cognate with Old Norse steypa "to pour out, throw" (or an unrecorded Old English cognate), from Proto-Germanic *staupijanan. Related: Steeped; steeping.
steeple (n.): Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower" (related to steap "high, lofty"), from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (see steep (adj.)).
steeplechase (n.): 1793 (earlier steeplehunt, 1772), from steeple + chase (n.). Originally a race with a visible church steeple as a goal.
steeplejack (n.): "one who climbs steeples, chimneys, etc. to make repairs," 1881, from steeple + jack (n.).
steer (v.): "guide the course of a vehicle," Old English steran (Mercian), stieran (West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *steurijanan (cf. Old Norse styra, Old Frisian stiora, Dutch sturen, Old High German stiuren, German steuern "to steer," Gothic stiurjan "to establish, assert"), related to *steuro "a rudder, a steering" (cf. Old English steor "helm, rudder," German Steuer and first element in starboard), from PIE *steu-ro- (cf. Greek stauros "stake, pole"), from root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

The notion is of a stiff, upright pillar or post used in steering. To steer clear of in the figurative sense of "to avoid completely" is recorded from 1723. Related: Steered; steering. Steering committee in the U.S. political sense is recorded from 1887.
steer (n.): "young ox," Old English steor "bullock," from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (cf. Old Saxon stior, Old Norse stjorr, Swedish tjur, Danish tyr, Middle Dutch, Dutch, German stier, Gothic stiur "bull"), perhaps from PIE *steu-ro-, a root denoting "strength, sturdiness" (see taurus).
steerage (n.): mid-15c., "action of steering," from steer (v.) + -age. Meaning "part of a ship in front of the chief cabin" is from 1610s; originally where the steering apparatus of the ship was, it retained the name after the introduction of the deck wheel in early 18c.; hence meaning "section of a ship with the cheapest accommodations," first recorded 1804.
stegosaurus (n.): type of dinosaur, 1892, from Modern Latin order name Stegosauria (O.C. Marsh, 1877), from comb. form of Greek stegos "roof" (from stege "covering," stegein "to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- "cover," especially "cover with a roof" (cf. Sanskrit sthag- "cover, conceal, hide;" Latin tegere "to cover;" Lithuanian stegti "roof;" Old Norse þekja, Old English þeccan "thatch;" Dutch dekken, German decken "to cover, put under roof;" Irish tuigiur "cover," tech "house;" Welsh toi "thatch, roof," ty "house") + -saurus. The back-armor plates in the fossilized remains look like roof tiles.
stein (n.): 1855, from German Stein, shortened form of Steinkrug "stone jug," from Stein "stone" (see stone (n.)) + Krug "jug, jar."
Steinway (n.): make of pianos, from Henry Englehard Steinway (1797-1871), celebrated German piano-builder who founded the firm in New York in 1853.