stumt

There are different theories about this word. Some derive it from Proto-Baltic *stum-, from the zero grade *stm̥- of Proto-Indo-European *stem- (“to push; to stutter”), whence also Old Norse stemma (“to press, to hinder”), Middle High German stemmen (“to halt; to make stiff”), German stemmen (“to lift, to press, to hinder”), and possibly a term for “mouth, muzzle”: cf. Ancient Greek στόμα (stóma, “mouth”), Proto-Germanic *stebnō (“voice, sound”); but note that the “push” meaning is attested only in Baltic languages. Others claim that it comes from Proto-Indo-European *tew-, *tu-, *stew-, *stu- (“to push, to hit”), whence also Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (stautan), Old High German stōzan, German stoßen (“to push, to shove”), and, with an extra m, also the Baltic terms and Russian unattested *стумать (*stumatʹ, “to push”), from which dialectal зату́мный (zatúmnyj, “dark; far (e.g., region)”), засту́ма (zastúma) “sad person” (< “repulsed, pushed away by something”), Ukrainian за́стум (zástum, “remote area”). It is also possible that both sources have contributed to the formation of this word. Cognates include Lithuanian stùmti.