From Old French estoper 'to stop up, plug,' the legal doctrine of being 'plugged' from contradicting your own prior statements.
A legal principle that bars a party from denying or asserting something contrary to what is established by their previous actions or statements.
From Anglo-French estoppel, from Old French estoper 'to stop up, plug,' from Vulgar Latin *stuppāre 'to stuff with tow,' from Latin stuppa 'tow, coarse fiber.' The metaphor is of plugging someone's mouth—preventing them from contradicting their own prior statements. Key roots: *stuppa (Latin (from Greek