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stir²

(stûr)

n.
Slang

Prison.

[Short for Romani stariben, stirapen : Romani star, variant of astar, to seize, causative of ast, to remain, stop (probably akin to Prakrit atthaï, he sits, from earlier Middle Indic *āsthāti, he remains, from Sanskrit ātiṣṭhati , he stands by, remains on : ā-, near, to, at + tiṣṭati, sthā-, he stands; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + Romani -iben, -ipen, noun suffix (ultimately a blend of Middle Indic *-pan, suffix forming nouns from adjectives (from Sanskrit -(i)tvanam, abstract noun suffix), and Middle Indic *-ibba, deverbative noun suffix (from Sanskrit *-(i)tavya-, future passive participle suffix)).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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