The word "stonen" is derived from the Old English word "stānan". It was used in Middle English as the past participle of "stonen" or "stōnen", which means "to stone" or "to throw stones". The Old English word "stānan" itself comes from the Proto-Germanic root "*stainaną", which has a similar meaning. This root is also related to the German word "stein" and the Dutch word "steen", both meaning "stone". The origins of this word can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root "*steyh₃-", which is associated with various stone-related words in different Indo-European languages.