Etymology

OE (Angl) stēle ‘steel’ + gere (n.).

PGmc Ancestor

*garwj-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

gervi, gørvi ‘gear, apparel’ 
(ONP gervi (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Icel gervi

OE Cognate

gearwe ‘clothing’

Phonological and morphological markers

absence of palatalization of */ɡ/

Summary category

A1*

Attestation

otherwise recorded by MED and OED only from c1600(c1350) Alex.Maced.(Oxford Bodleian Library, Greaves 60).

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 260

Bibliography

MED stēl(e (adj.) , OED steel (n.1) , HTOED , Dance stel-gere