Etymology Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).
1
A daring or dangerous feat, often involving the display of gymnastic skills.
He found ways to devise, stage, and film stunts that are like nothing anyone’s ever accomplished. He recorded stunning image after stunning image; practically every frame of Fury Road could be a painting.2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club:
2
An act or activity viewed as the outcome of a plan or scheme, often malicious or nefarious.
3
Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of publicity stunt.
"See if you can hit the barrel, Joe," urged George Bland. "A lot of us have missed it, including Peaches, who seems to think his particular stunt is high throwing."1912, Stratemeyer Syndicate, chapter 1, in Baseball Joe on the School Nine:
Etymology Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).
1
Cheerleading, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To perform a stunt.
2
Slang To show off; to posture; to flaunt valuables.
African-American Vernacular
Call me the juice and you know I'm a stunt.2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:
I was that interested because I wanted the Z28, but I wasn't going another day with Sterling stunting on me with the Contour.2015, Seth Turner Jr., Brother: The Self-made Story of a St. Louis Entrepreneur:
stunt
verb
Etymology From dialectal stunt (“stubborn, dwarfed”), from Middle English stont, stunt (“short, brief”), from Old English stunt (“stupid, foolish, simple”), from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz (“short, compact, stupid, dull”). Cognate with Middle High German stunz (“short”), Old Norse stuttr (“short in stature, dwarfed”). Related to Old English styntan (“to make dull, stupefy, become dull, repress”). More at stint.
1
To check or hinder the growth or development of.
Some have said smoking stunts your growth.
The politician timed his announcement to stunt any surge in the polls his opponent might gain from the convention.
Etymology From dialectal stunt (“stubborn, dwarfed”), from Middle English stont, stunt (“short, brief”), from Old English stunt (“stupid, foolish, simple”), from Proto-Germanic *stuntaz (“short, compact, stupid, dull”). Cognate with Middle High German stunz (“short”), Old Norse stuttr (“short in stature, dwarfed”). Related to Old English styntan (“to make dull, stupefy, become dull, repress”). More at stint.
1
A check in growth.
2
That which has been checked in growth; a stunted animal or thing.
3
A two-year-old whale, which, having been weaned, is lean and yields little blubber.