Modern Sense of "Stalk," v.

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 12:26:56AM +0000, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>
> The OED's earliest citation for "stalk," in the sense "To harass or
> persecute (a person, esp. a public figure) with unwanted, obsessive,
> and usually threatening attention over an extended period of time," is
> dated 1981. A correspondent of Harvard Magazine, in the current issue,
> quotes John le Carre's 1968 novel A Small Town in Germany: "He would
> never do such a thing. It was not in his nature. ... He assured me
> categorically that he was not ... stalking me."
>
> Jesse, does the OED have any earlier evidence for this sense? Can
> anyone else produce pre-1968 citations?

We don't have anything earlier than what's in the published entry. I'd
welcome any evidence....

Jesse Sheidlower
OED

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