Past tense of 'stab'; to pierce or wound someone with a sharp pointed weapon or object.
From Middle English 'stabben,' possibly from Old Norse 'stabb.' The origin is uncertain but likely imitative, mimicking the sharp, sudden action of stabbing.
The word 'stabbed' is one of those past-tense words that changed its vowel in Middle English—like 'stab/stabbed'—because Old English had different rules for how verbs changed tense. These irregular verbs are remnants of an older language system.
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