Start
Old English styrtan ‘to caper, leap’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch storten ‘push’ and German stürzen ‘fall headlong, fling’. From the sense ‘sudden movement’ arose the sense ‘initiation of movement, setting out on a journey’ and hence ‘beginning of a process, etc.’.
wiktionary
From Middle English stert, from the verb sterten(“to start, startle”). See below.
From Middle English sterten(“to leap up suddenly, rush out”), from Old English styrtan(“to leap up, start”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturtijan(“to startle, move, set in motion”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ter-(“to be stiff”). Cognate with Old Frisian stirta(“to fall down, tumble”), Middle Dutch sterten(“to rush, fall, collapse”) (Dutch storten), Old High German sturzen(“to hurl, plunge, turn upside down”) (German stürzen), Old High German sterzan(“to be stiff, protrude”). More at stare.
From Middle English stert, start, from Old English steort, stert, from Proto-Germanic *stertaz(“tail”). Cognate with Dutch staart(“tail”), German Sterz(“tail, handle”), Swedish stjärt(“tail, arse”).
etymonline
start (v.)
Old English *steortian, *stiertan, Kentish variants of styrtan "to leap up" (attested only in Northumbrian past participle sturtende), from Proto-Germanic *stert- (source also of Old Frisian stirta "to fall, tumble," Middle Dutch sterten, Dutch storten "to rush, fall," Old High German sturzen, German stürzen "to hurl, throw, plunge"). According to Watkins, the notion is "move briskly, move swiftly," and the Proto-Germanic word is from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff."
From "move or spring suddenly," sense evolved by c. 1300 to "awaken suddenly, flinch or recoil in alarm," and by 1660s to "cause to begin acting or operating." Meaning "begin to move, leave, depart" (without implication of suddenness) is from 1821. The connection probably is from sporting senses ("to force an animal from its lair," late 14c.). Transitive sense of "set in motion or action" is from 1670s; specifically as "to set (machinery) in action" from 1841.
Related: Started; starting. To start something "cause trouble" is 1915, American English colloquial. To start over "begin again" is from 1912. Starting-line in running is from 1855; starting-block in running first recorded 1937.
start (n.)
late 14c., "an involuntary movement of the body, a sudden jump," from start (v.). Meaning "act of beginning to move or act" is from 1560s. Meaning "act of beginning to build a house" is from 1946. That of "opportunity at the beginning of a career or course of action" is from 1849. Paired with finish (n.) from at least 1839. False start first attested 1850.
