Meaning

noun a fixed look with eyes open wide

verb look at with fixed eyes

verb fixate one's eyes

originFrom Middle English star, ster, from Old English stær (“starling”), from Proto-Germanic *starô (“starling”), from Proto-Indo-European *stor- (“starling”). Cognate with German Star (“starling”), Danish stær (“starling”), Swedish stare (“starling”), Norwegian Nynorsk stare (“starling”), Icelandic stari (“starling”). Compare also Old English stearn (“a type of bird, starling”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0