The word 'stink' has a deep Germanic lineage, tracing back to the Proto-Germanic verb stinkwaną, meaning 'to smell, to give off a smell'. This, in turn, is believed to originate from the Proto-Indo-European root stengʷ-, meaning 'to push, thrust, or strike', a sense which metaphorically evolved into the idea of a smell that strikes or thrusts itself upon the senses. The meaning narrowed in English from a general term for emitting any odor to specifically denoting a foul or offensive one by the early 13th century. This semantic shift from a neutral action to a negatively charged sensation illustrates a common linguistic pattern where sensory verbs acquire pejorative connotations.

This is a simplex word of Germanic origin. The modern English form 'stink' derives directly from the Old English verb 'stincan', which meant to emit a smell, often but not exclusively unpleasant. Its functional role is as a complete lexical root.