stack

B2 Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /ˈstæk/ UK /stæk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like stock /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #6909

Meanings

1

noun
A neat pile of things placed one on top of another.

There was a stack of books on the desk.
2

noun
A large amount of something.

He earned a stack of money from the deal.
3

verb
To arrange things in a pile, one on top of another.

Please stack the chairs against the wall.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms stackedstackingstacks

Derived forms bookstackdestackdoublestackdownstackdrystackfull-stackhaystackinterstackmackministackmisstackmultistack

Related forms stackablestackedunstack

Etymology

From Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate with Icelandic stakkur (“stack”), Swedish stack (“stack”), Danish stak (“stack”), Norwegian stakk (“stack”). Related to stake and sauna.

*(s)teg- (pole) Proto-Indo-European stack Middle English stakkr Old Norse *stakkaz Proto-Germanic

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External links

# stack

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈstæk/
**IPA (UK):** /stæk/
**Frequency rank:** 6909

## Meanings
1. A neat pile of things placed one on top of another.
2. A large amount of something.
3. To arrange things in a pile, one on top of another.

## Examples
- There was a stack of books on the desk.
- He earned a stack of money from the deal.
- Please stack the chairs against the wall.

## Derived Forms
- bookstack
- destack
- doublestack
- downstack
- drystack
- full-stack
- haystack
- interstack
- mack
- ministack
- misstack
- multistack

## Related Forms
- stackable
- stacked
- unstack

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)teg- (pole)
- Root: stack
- Root: stakkr
- Root: *stakkaz

## Etymology
From Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate with Icelandic stakkur (“stack”), Swedish stack (“stack”), Danish stak (“stack”), Norwegian stakk (“stack”). Related to stake and sauna.

## AI Etymology
Stack is from Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”). The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate with Icelandic stakkur (“stack”), Swedish stack (“stack”), Danish stak (“stack”), Norwegian stakk (“stack”). Related to stake and sauna. In present-day use, it can mean a neat pile of things placed one on top of another, or a large amount of something.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity

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stack

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