Online Etymology Dictionary

stell (v.): "to fix in position," Old English stellan, from West Germanic *stalljan (cf. German stellen; see stall (n.1)).
Stella: fem. proper name, from Latin stella "star" (see star (n.)).
stellar (adj.): 1650s, "pertaining to stars, star-like," from Latin stellaris "pertaining to a star, starry," from stella (see star (n.)). Meaning "outstanding, leading" (1883) is from the theatrical sense of star.
stellate (adj.): c.1500, "star-spangled," from Latin stellatus "covered with stars," past participle of stellare "to set with stars," from stella (see star (n.)). Meaning "star-shaped" is recorded from 1660s.
stem (n.): Old English stemn, stefn "stem of a plant," also "either end-post of a ship," from Proto-Germanic *stamniz (cf. Old Saxon stamm, Old Norse stafn "stem of a ship;" Danish stamme, Swedish stam "trunk of a tree;" Old High German stam, German Stamm), from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

Meaning "support of a wineglass" is from 1835. Stem-winding watches (1875) were advanced and desirable when introduced, hence slang stem-winder "excellent thing" (1892). The nautical sense is preserved in the phrase stem to stern "along the full length" (of a ship), attested from 1620s. The verbal phrase stems from, first recorded 1932, American English, translates German stammen aus, probably from a figurative sense represented by English stem (n.) in the sense of "stock of a family, line of descent" (c.1540; cf. family tree, and German stammvater "tribal ancestor," literally "stem-father"). Stem cell attested by 1885.
stem (v.): "to hold back," c.1300, from Old Norse stemma "to stop," from Proto-Germanic *stamjan (cf. Swedish stämma, Old Saxon stemmian, Middle Dutch stemon, German stemmen "stop, resist, oppose"), from PIE root *stem- "to strike against something" (cf. Lithuanian stumiu "thrust, push"). Phrase to stem the tide is literally "to hold back the tide," but often is confused with stem (v.) in sense of "to make headway against, head in a certain course" (late 14c.), which is from stem (n.)).
Sten (n.): type of light, rapid-fire submachine gun, 1942, from initials of surnames of designers R.V. Shepherd and H.J. Turpin + En(field) (see Bren).
stench (n.): Old English stenc "a smell" (either pleasant or unpleasant), from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz (cf. Old Saxon stanc, Old High German stanch, German stank). Related to stincan "emit a smell" (see stink) as drench is to drink. The notion of "evil smell" predominated from c.1200.
stencil (n.): 1707, not recorded again until 1848, probably from Middle English stencellen "decorate with bright colors," from Middle French estenceler "cover with sparkles or stars, powder with color," from estencele "spark, spangle," from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathesis of Latin scintilla "spark."
stencil (v.): "to produce a design with a stencil," 1861, from stencil (n.). Related: Stenciled; stenciling.
stenographer (n.): 1809, agent noun formation from stenography.
stenography (n.): "shorthand," c.1600, from Greek stenos "narrow" (of unknown origin) + -graphy.
stenosis (n.): 1872, Modern Latin, from Greek stenosis "narrowing," from stenoun "to narrow," from stenos "narrow."
stent (n.): "tube implanted temporarily," 1964, named for Charles T. Stent (1807-1885), English dentist.
stentorian (adj.): "of powerful voice," c.1600, from Stentor, legendary Greek herald in the Trojan War, whose voice (described in the "Iliad") was as loud as 50 men. His name is from Greek stenein "groan, moan," from PIE imitative root *(s)ten-, source of Old English þunor "thunder."
step (v.): Old English steppan (Anglian), stæppan (West Saxon) "take a step," from West Germanic *stap- "tread" (cf. Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch stap, Old High German stapfo, German stapfe "footstep"), from PIE root *stebh- "to tread, step" (cf. Old Church Slavonic stopa "step, pace," stepeni "step, degree"). Originally strong (past tense stop, past participle bestapen); weak forms emerged 13c., universal from 16c. Stepping stone first recorded early 14c.; in the figurative sense 1650s. Step on it "hurry up" is 1923, from notion of gas pedal; step out (v.) is from 1907.
step (n.): Old English steppa (Mercian), stæpe, stepe (West Saxon) "stair, act of stepping," from the source of step (v.). Meaning "action which leads toward a result" is recorded from 1540s. Warning phrase watch your step is attested from 1934. Step-dancing first recorded 1886.
step-: Old English steop-, with connotations of "loss," in combinations like steopcild "orphan," related to astiepan, bestiepan "to bereave, to deprive of parents or children," from Proto-Germanic *steupa- "bereft" (cf. Old Frisian stiap-, Old Norse stjup-, Swedish styv-, Middle Low German stef-, Dutch stief-, Old High German stiof-, German stief-), literally "pushed out," from PIE *steup-, from root *(s)teu- (see steep (adj.)).

Etymologically, a stepfather or stepmother is one who becomes father or mother to an orphan, but the notion of orphanage faded in 20c. For sense evolution, cf. Latin privignus "stepson," related to privus "deprived."
stepbrother (n.): mid-15c., from step- + brother (n.).
stepfather (n.): Old English steopfæder; see step- + father.
Stephanie: fem. proper name, female form of Stephen. A top-20 name for girls born in U.S. 1969-1996.
Stephen: masc. proper name, from Latin Stephanus, from Greek Stephanos, from stephanos "crown, garland." Exclusively a monk's name in Old English, it became common after the Conquest.
Stepin Fetchit: type of stereotypical black roles in Hollywood, or in popular culture generally, from stage name (a play on step and fetch it) of popular black vaudeville actor Lincoln Theodore Perry (1902-1985), who first appeared in films under that name in "In Old Kentucky" (1927). Perry said he took the name from a racehorse on which he'd won some money.
stepladder (n.): one with steps instead of rungs, 1751, from step (n.) + ladder.
stepmother (n.): Old English steopmodor; see step- + mother (n.1).
steppe (n.): vast treeless plain of southeastern Europe and of Asia, 1670s, from Russian *step', of unknown origin.
stercoraceous (adj.): 1731, "consisting of or pertaining to feces," from Latin stercus "dung."
stere (n.): unit of the metric system for solid measure, 1798, from French stère "unit of volume equal to one cubic meter," from Greek stereos "solid," from PIE root *ster- "stiff, rigid" (see sterile).
stereo: 1823 as a shortening of stereotype; 1876 as a shortening of stereoscope; 1954 (adj.) as a shortening of stereophonic; the noun meaning "stereophonic record or tape player" is recorded from 1964.
stereo-: word-forming element, before vowels stere-, from comb. form of Greek stereos "solid" (see stereotype).
stereophonic (adj.): 1927, from stereo- + phonic.
stereoptican (n.): "double magic lantern producing dissolving views," from stereo- + Greek optikon, neuter of optikos "pertaining to sight" (see optic).
stereoscopic (adj.): 1855, from stereoscope (1838), from stereo- + -scope.
stereotype (n.): 1798, "method of printing from a plate," from French stéréotype (adj.) "printing by means of a solid plate of type," from Greek stereos "solid" (see sterile) + French type "type." Noun meaning "a stereotype plate" is from 1817. Meaning "image perpetuated without change" is first recorded 1850, from the verb in this sense, which is from 1819. Meaning "preconceived and oversimplified notion of characteristics typical of a person or group" is recorded from 1922. Stereotypical is attested from 1949.
sterile (adj.): early 15c., "barren" (implied in sterility), from Middle French stérile "not producing fruit," from Latin sterilis "barren, unproductive," from PIE *ster- "sterile, barren" originally "stiff, rigid" (cf. Greek steresthai "be deprived of," steira "sterile," stereos "firm, solid, stiff, hard;" Sanskrit starih "a barren cow;" Old Church Slavonic sterica "a barren cow;" Gothic stairo "barren;" Old Norse stirtla "a barren cow"). See torpor. Originally in English with reference to soil; of females, from 1530s. The sense of "sterilized" is first recorded 1877.
sterilization (n.): 1874, noun of action from sterilize.
sterilize (v.): "destroy the fertility of," 1690s (in reference to soil), from sterile + -ize; of living things from 1828. Meaning "render free of microorganisms" is from 1878. Related: Sterilized; sterilizing.
sterling: c.1300, "silver penny," probably from Middle English sterre (see star (n.)), from the stars that appeared in the design of certain Norman coins, + diminutive suffix -ling. The other theory is that it derives from Old French estedre "stater" (see stater).

Sense broadened by 1560s to "money having the quality of the sterling," and c.1600 to "English money in general." A pound sterling was originally "a pound weight of sterlings," equal to about 240 of them.
stern (adj.): Old English styrne "severe, strict," from Proto-Germanic *sternijaz (cf. Middle High German sterre, German starr "stiff," störrig "obstinate;" Gothic andstaurran "to be stiff;" Old Norse stara; Old English starian "to look or gaze upon"), from PIE root *ster-, *star- "be rigid" (see sterile).
stern (n.): c.1300, "hind part of a ship, steering gear of a ship," probably from Old Norse stjorn "a steering," related to styra "to guide" (see steer (v.)). Or the word may come from Old Frisian stiarne "rudder," which is also related to steer (v.).
Stern gang: militant Zionist terrorist organization (officially Lohame Herut Yisra'el "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel") founded 1940 by Avram Stern (1907-1942).
Sterno (n.): U.S. proprietary name for solidified alcohol used as fuel for cooking stoves, 1915, by S. Sternau & Co., New York, New York.
sternocleidomastoid: from sterno-, comb. form of Greek sternon or Latin sternum (see sternum) + Greek kleis (see clavicle) + mastoid.
sternum (n.): 1660s, from Greek sternon "chest, breast, breastbone" (in Homer, only of males), from PIE *stre-to- "to stretch, extend," from a root meaning "flat surface," related to stornynai "to spread out" (see structure (n.)), on the notion of the chest as broad and flat, as opposed to the neck.
steroid (n.): naturally occuring substance based on the carbon skeleton of sterol molecules, 1936, from sterol (1913; abstracted from cholesterol) + -oid, from Greek -oeides "-like," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid). Related: Steroids.
stertorous (adj.): 1802, from Modern Latin stertor (from Latin stertere "to snore") + -ous.
stet: direction to printer to disregard correction made to text, 1755, from Latin stet "let it stand," third person singular present subjunctive of stare "to stand, stand upright, be stiff," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, set down, make or be firm," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (cf. Sanskrit tisthati "stands;" Avestan histaiti "to stand;" Persian -stan "country," literally "where one stands;" Greek histemi "put, place, cause to stand; weigh," stasis "a standing still," statos "placed," stater "a weight, coin," stylos "pillar;" Latin sistere "stand still, stop, make stand, place, produce in court," status "manner, position, condition, attitude," stare "to stand," statio "station, post;" Lithuanian stojus "place myself," statau "place;" Old Church Slavonic staja "place myself," stanu "position," staru "old," literally "long-standing;" Gothic standan, Old English standan "to stand," stede "place," steall "place where cattle are kept;" Old Norse steði "anvil," stallr "pedestal for idols, altar;" German Stall "stable;" Old Irish sessam "the act of standing"). Also see related words under assist.
stethoscope (n.): 1820, from French stéthoscope, coined 1819 by its inventor, French physician René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781-1826) from Greek stethos "chest, breast" + -scope. Greek stethos is perhaps related to sternon (see sternum); it meant "front of the chest," and was only rarely used of a woman's breasts, but in Modern Greek it became the preferred polite term.
Stetson: 1902, trademark name, from John B. Stetson (1830-1906), U.S. hat manufacturer, who started his company in Philadelphia in 1865.
stevedore (n.): 1788, from Spanish estibador "one who loads cargo," agent noun from estibar "to stow cargo," from Latin stipare "pack down, press" (see stiff (adj.)).