Stalk
/stɔːk/noun
The main stem of a plant, or to follow someone or something stealthily.
Did you know?The “creep up on someone” sense of stalk is historically separate from the plant stem word, and it likely developed from the idea of moving in a stiff, stealthy way—language literally weaponized into menace.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
stalu
“A stalk or stem; also the supporting stem of a plant”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*stalkaz
“Stem, stalk, or upright support”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*stel-
“To put, place, set up; to make firm or support”
Middle English
English
stalken
“To move stealthily or in a stiff, creeping manner”
Modern English
English
stalk
“The stem of a plant; to pursue or follow stealthily”