also stickup, 1857, "a stand-up collar," from verbal phrase (attested from early 15c.), from stick (v.) + up (adv.). The verbal phrase in the sense of "rob someone at gunpoint" is from 1846, hence the noun in this sense (1887).

What does the term stick up mean?

: to stand upright or on end : protrude. transitive verb. : to rob at gunpoint. stick up for. : to speak or act in defense of : support.

Where did the term stick come from?

“Stick” is, of course, a very old word, derived from a Germanic root that carried the sense of “pierce or prick,” a sense still find in the verb “to stick” when we speak of “sticking” someone with a needle.