estafar (Spanish)
Where does "estafar" come from?
The Spanish verb 'estafar,' meaning to swindle or cheat, originates from the Italian word 'staffare,' which means to lose one's stirrups. This colourful metaphor likens someone falling victim to a scam to a rider unseated from their horse. Ultimately, the word traces back to the Lombardic 'stapho,' referring to the stirrup itself.
Full etymology tree
- estafar (Spanish), 'to swindle, to con'
- borrowed staffare (Italian), 'to lose one's stirrups'
- derived staffa (Italian), 'stirrup'
- borrowed stapho (Lombardic)
- derived -are (Italian), 'the infinitive ending of most regular verbs; also, a productive suffix forming new verbs from nouns'
- inherited -āre (Latin), 'present active infinitive of -ō (first conjugation)'
- inherited *-āzi (Proto-Italic)
- influence -ere (Latin), 'present active infinitive of -ō (third conjugation)'
- inherited *-ezi (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *-esi (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *-os (Proto-Indo-European), 'Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.'
- inherited *-esi (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *-ezi (Proto-Italic)
- inherited -āre (Latin), 'present active infinitive of -ō (first conjugation)'
- derived staffa (Italian), 'stirrup'
- borrowed staffare (Italian), 'to lose one's stirrups'
Ancestors
- staffare (Italian)
Descendants and derived words
- estafar (Catalan)
- estafa (Spanish)
- estafa (Spanish)
- estafa (Spanish)
- estafador (Spanish)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris