As far back as the Romans, purified starch has been incorporated into paper to give it body and smooth its surface. In the 14th century , Holland and other northern European countries began stiffening their linen cloth with wheat starch. The word starch dates from the 15th century , and comes from a German root that means " to stiffen , tomake rigid , " which is also what starch does to convert bread douugh into bread . The German in turn came from an Indo - European root meaning " stiff ;related words are stare , stark , stern , and starve