stead [OE] Old English stede meant ‘place’. From a Germanic source, it is related to Dutch stad ‘town’, German Statt ‘place’, from an Indo-European root shared by the verb stand [OE]. Instead [ME] is simply ‘in stead, in place of’ run together. The adjective steadfast [OE] is literally ‘standing firm’; a homestead [OE] is your ‘home place’; while if you are steady [ME] you are not easily moved from your place. See also place.