stanza

Where does the word "stanza" come from? It comes from Latin stans, passing through Italian before entering English (1500s-1600s).

Stanza’s story begins in Latin: stans meant “standing, a stopping place.” Meaning "standing", from "stare" (to stand). By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as stanza. Came to mean a room, and then a section of a poem. It reached English by 1500s-1600s as stanza. Italian 'room, stopping place', since a stanza is a pause in the poem. Today, stanza means a grouped set of lines forming a unit within a poem.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient stans "standing, a stopping place", meaning "standing", from "stare" (to stand).
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval stanza "a room; a section of a poem", came to mean a room, and then a section of a poem.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s-1600s stanza "a grouped set of lines in a poem", Italian 'room, stopping place', since a stanza is a pause in the poem.