I had to look this very interesting word up now. And it is spread all around the Germanic languages and is directly derived from the verb "to stand" (en), "stehen" (de) or "at stå" (dk). Which is funny, because you sit on something that stands. :-)

> I wonder if the German language took the second meaning back from English later, or if they both developed at the same time for the same reason at a point when there was shared influence between English and German royal courts.

I would bet on the second one!