c.1300, from O.Fr.
statue (12c.), from L.
statua "image, statue," prop. "that which is set up," back-formation from
statuere "to cause to stand, set up," from
status "a standing, position," from
stare "to stand" (see
stet).
Statuary is from 1563.
Statuesque is from early 1820s, patterned on
picturesque. Dim.
statuette, with Fr. ending, is first recorded 1843. The children's game of
statues is attested from 1906.