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stickler (n.)
1530s, "moderator, umpire," agent noun from stickle "mediate" (1520s), probably a frequentative of Middle English stighten "to arrange, place," from Old English stihtan "to rule, direct, arrange, order," which is cognate with Middle Dutch stichten, German stiften "to found, establish," probably from Proto-Germanic *stihtan "to place on a step or base," from PIE root *steigh- "to stride, step, rise" (see stair). Meaning "person who contends or insists stubbornly" is first recorded 1640s.
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Definitions of stickler
Dictionary entries near stickler
stick
stickball
sticker
stick-in-the-mud
stickleback
stickler
sticks
sticktoitiveness
stickum
stick-up
sticky