first impressions

*sta *sta *sta standing static standard notwithstanding
stab stasis stay staff stairs stalk stamen postal postage
hostage coastal stare static stale outstanding staggered
install abstain stark statue stamp status Pakistan statute

extant?

stately stain staunch starvation constant Constantinople
stacked staples stagnant stars stage statistical thermostats

Tristan started understanding Stalingrad when he staggered toward the statue of Stalin installed in the starry station, and saw the stain sustained when hostile states, as a standard stack constant statistics, and stab, and starve, and stake hostages, and the stalwart staff, who only hope to withstand the State and install sustainable standards.

What do these words have in common? What is the breadth of the usage?

~*~*~*~*~

The prefix *sta. . . . standing stately Stalingrad: a syllable of dominance. Stars are fixed points of light in the sky. The State installs standards. A statue stays a statue. The stain stays on the shirt. *sta involves an absolute pivot, the silent point at the center, around which other syllables revolve. The prefix *sta, when spoken by itself, "*sta," is not very compelling. But when it's stapled to another utterance, it starts to withstand the staunch, constant static of staggering misunderstanding.