'stupefy' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'stupefacere,' where 'stupe-' (from 'stupēre') meant 'to be stunned or numb' and 'facere' meant 'to make.'

'stupefy' changed from Latin 'stupefacere' into Old/Medieval French forms such as 'estupifier' (or Middle French 'estupéfier') and entered English in roughly the early modern period, eventually becoming the modern English verb 'stupefy.'

Initially it meant 'to make numb or stunned' (often in a physical sense); over time it broadened to include causing extreme astonishment or mental daze and now commonly means 'to astonish or stun' as well as 'to numb the senses.'