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Origin and history of stamp

stamp(v.)

Middle English stampen "pound, mash, beat, crush," from Old English stempan "to pound, crush, or bruise in or as in a mortar," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stappa, Danish stampe, Middle Dutch stampen, Old High German stampfon, German stampfen "to stamp with the foot, beat, pound," German Stampfe "pestle"), from nasalized form of PIE root *stebh- "to support, place firmly on" (source also of Greek stembein "to trample, misuse;" see staff (n.)). The vowel altered in Middle English, perhaps by influence of Scandinavian forms.

The intransitive sense of "strike the foot forcibly downwards" is from mid-14c. That of "tread heavily" is from late 14c. Transitive sense of "strike or beat with a forcible downward thrust of the foot" is from late 15c. Related: Stamping.

The meaning "impress or mark (a design on something) with a die" is attested by mid-15c. (implied in stamped). Italian stampa "stamp, impression," Spanish estampar "to stamp, print," French étamper (13c., Old French estamper) "to stamp, impress" are Germanic loan-words. The meaning "affix a postage stamp to" is by 1837.

To stamp out originally was "extinguish a fire by stamping on it;" attested from 1851 in the figurative sense. Stamping ground "one's particular territory" (1821) is from the notion of animals. A stamped addressed envelope (1873) was one you enclosed in a letter to speed or elicit a reply.

stamp(n.)

mid-15c., stampe, "instrument for crushing, stamping tool," from stamp (v.). Perhaps earlier (compare Old English pil-stampe "pestle"). Later especially "instrument for making impressions on a coin, medal, etc." (by 1570s). The meaning "forcible downward thrust or blow with the foot, act of stamping" is from 1580s.

The sense of "official mark or imprint" (to certify that duty has been paid on what has been printed or written) dates from 1540s; it was transferred 1837 to designed, pre-printed adhesive labels issued by governments to serve the same purpose as impressed stamps. U.S. postage stamps were issued under the Post Office Act of March 3, 1847; Britain had them earlier, under the Postage Act of 1839.

German Stempel "rubber stamp; brand, postmark" represents a diminutive form. Stamp-collecting is by 1862 (earlier than philately) as are stamp-collector and stamp-album.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to stamp

philately(n.)

"stamp-collecting, the fancy for collecting and classifying postage-stamps and revenue stamps," 1865, from French philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in "Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste," Nov. 15, 1864), from Greek phil- "loving" (see philo-) + atelēs "free from tax or charge," which was the ancient Greek word Herpin found that most nearly matched the concept of what a postage stamp does (from a- "without," see a- (3), + telos "tax;" see toll (n.)).

It is a reminder of the original function of postage stamps: the cost of letter-carrying formerly was paid by the recipient; a stamp indicated that carriage had been pre-paid by the sender, thus indicating to the recipient's postmaster that the letter so stamped was "carriage-free."

It is a pity that for one of the most popular scientific pursuits one of the least popularly intelligible names should have been found. [Fowler]

Stampomania (1865) also was tried. Also from French were timbrology "science or study of postage stamps" (1865), from French timbre "stamp," apparently the same word as timbre. Also timbromanie (1863), the French word for "stamp-collecting mania." Stamp-collecting itself is attested from 1862. Related: Philatelic; philatelism; philatelist.

staff(n.)

Middle English staf, "stick or pole," especially one about 5 or 6 feet long and carried in the hand, from Old English stæf (plural stafas), "walking stick, strong pole used for carrying, rod used as a weapon, pastoral staff," probably originally *stæb, from Proto-Germanic *stab- (source also of Old Saxon staf, Old Norse stafr, Danish stav, Old Frisian stef, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch staf, Old High German stab, German Stab, Gothic *stafs "element;" Middle Dutch stapel "pillar, foundation").

This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem, to support, place firmly on, fasten" (source also of Old Lithuanian stabas "idol," Lithuanian stiebas "staff, pillar;" Old Church Slavonic stoboru "pillar;" Sanskrit stabhnati "supports;" Greek stephein "to tie around, encircle, wreathe," staphyle "grapevine, bunch of grapes;" Old English stapol "post, pillar"). It is thus thought to be not connected to stiff.

Many extended senses are from the notion of "that which upholds or supports, that which sustains" such as staff of life "bread," from the Biblical phrase break the staff of bread meaning "cut off the supply of food" (Leviticus xxvi.26), translating Hebrew matteh lekhem. As "pole from which a flag is flown," 1610s. In reference to the horizontal lines in musical notation, from 1660s.

Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander but are not in charge of troops" is attested from 1702, apparently from German, from the notion of the baton that is a badge of office or authority (a sense attested in English from 1530s); hence staff officer (1702), staff-sergeant (1811). In this sense staffs is the usual plural. The meaning "group of employees (as at an office or hospital)" is attested by 1837.

Old English stæf, in plural, was the common word for "letter of the alphabet, character," hence "writing, literature," and its use in Old English compounds having to do with writing, such as stæfcræft "grammar," stæfcræftig "lettered," stæflic "literary," stæfleahtor "grammatical error," with leahtor "vice, sin, offense."