means To pierce or wound sharply with a venomous or irritating point, as a bee or nettle does; or, by extension, to cause a sudden sharp pain, whether physical or emotional.

from From Old English 'stingan,' to prick or pierce, with deep Germanic roots — a cousin of Old Norse 'stinga' and related to the Proto-Germanic family clustered around the idea of a sharp jab. The same ancient sense gives us 'stick' in the pointed-thing sense; the word has been jabbing speakers of English for well over a thousand years. The slang 'sting' meaning a swindle or police trap is a much later figurative bloom — the metaphorical bee that gets you when you least expect it.