stack
stack
UK[stæk]US[stæk]
n
A neat pile of things, typically arranged one on top of another.
n
A chimney or vertical exhaust pipe.
v
To arrange things in a neat pile.
v
To shuffle or arrange (a deck of cards) unfairly.
Etymology
The word 'stack' entered Middle English from Old Norse 'stakkr', meaning a haystack or a pile. Its ultimate origin is Proto-Germanic stakkaz, which is thought to be related to the Proto-Indo-European root steg-, meaning 'to stick' or 'to prick', an idea connected to the pointed shape of a haystack or a stook of sheaves. The semantic journey moved from a specific agricultural pile (of hay or grain) to any orderly vertical pile. The meaning extended to chimneys and exhaust pipes due to their tall, columnar shape resembling a stack, and the verb sense developed naturally from the act of creating such a pile.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form derived from a single, tight Germanic root. It is not productively formed from multiple, separable morphemes in modern English.
Examples
She placed the books in a neat stack on the desk.
Black smoke poured from the factory's smokestack.
He was accused of trying to stack the deck in his favor before the negotiation.