An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Sterz

by Friedrich Kluge

Sterz, masculine, ‘tail, rump, plough handle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German stërz, masculine; corresponding to Dutch staart, Anglo-Saxon steort, English start. A Teutonic root stert, ‘to project' or ‘to turn ‘(see Stürzen), has been assumed to explain the cognates; others connect it with Greek στόρθη, ‘prong, projecting point.’