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STAFF-ANGLE

staff. This staff, mine office-badge.' Shak. See PASTORAL-STAFF, CROZIER.

The Earl of Worcester Hath broke his staff, resigned his stewardship. Shak.

12 [From staff, as an ensign of authority.] Milit. a body of officers whose duties refer to an army or regiment as a whole, and who are not attached to particular subdivisions. The staff of the British army includes the general officers commanding divisions, district brigades, &c.;-the officers of the quartermaster-general's and the adjutant-general's departments: called the General Staff: -officers attached to commanding general officers as military secretaries and aides-decamp: called the Personal Staff;-officers employed in connection with the civil departments at the war office; and those engaged in recruiting and garrison work. A regimental staff, consisting of adjutant, quartermaster, paymaster, &c., is attached to each regiment.-13. A body of executive officers attached to any establishment for the carrying out of its designs, or a number of persons, considered as one body, intrusted with the execution of any undertaking; as, the editorial and reporting staff of a newspaper; the staff of the Geological Survey; a hospital staff, &c.

The college staffs have not yet broken up. Macmillan's Mag Staff-angle (staf'ang-gl), n. In plastering, a square rod of wood, standing flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of plastering, to prevent their being damaged.

Staff-bead (staf bed), n. In arch. see ANGLE

BEAD.

Staff-hole (staf'hol), n. In metal. a small hole in the puddling-furnace through which the puddler heats his staff. Weale. Staffert (staf'i-er), n. An attendant bearing a staff. Staffiers on foot.' Hudibras. Staffisht (staf'ish), a. Stiff; harsh. Ascham. Staff-man (staf'man), n. A workman employed in silk-throwing.

Staff-officer (staf'of-fis-ér), n. Milit.an officer upon the staff of an army or regiment. See STAFF.

Staff-sergeant (staf'sär-jant), n. One of a superior class of non-commissioned officers belonging to the staff of a regiment, as the quartermaster-sergeant, armourer-sergeant, hospital-sergeant, &c.

Staff-sling (staf'sling), n. A leathern sling fixed on to one end of a shaft about a yard in length. The slinger held it with both hands, and could hurl stones with great violence. It was subsequently employed to throw grenades. Chaucer.

Staff-strikert (staf'stri-kér), n. A sturdy beggar; a tramp.

Staff-tree (staf'tre), n. Celastrus, a genus of plants allied to the genera Euonymus and Catha. The species are evergreen shrubs and climbers, and are found in the temperate regions of tropical countries, appearing in greatest number in the Himalayas.

Stag (stag), n. [From the root of A. Sax. stigan, Icel. stiga, G. steigen, to mount; lit. the mounter. (See STAIR.) The name, under slightly different forms, is given to male animals of very different species; Icel. steggr, a male fox, a gander, a drake, also the male of several wild animals; Sc. staig, a stallion; O.E. stag, a castrated bull, a young horse, a cock-turkey; staggard, a hart in its fourth year] 1. The male red-deer or a generic name of the red-deer (Cervus elaphus); the male of the hind; a hart: sometimes applied particularly to a hart in its fifth year. The stag is a native of Europe and Northern Asia. In Britain it is now found wild only in the Highlands of Scotland. It is called the red-deer from the reddish-brown colour of the upper parts in summer, the colour in winter being rather grayish-brown. A fullsized stag with his antlers well-developed is a magnificent animal, standing about 4 feet high at the shoulder, and having horns 3 feet in length. (See ANTLER.) The females are quite hornless, and smaller. These animals feed on grass, buds, and young shoots of trees, &c. In winter they associate in herds. (See cut DEER.) In America the stag is represented by the wapiti (C. canadensis).-2. A colt or filly; also, a romping girl; a hoyden. [Provincial.]-3. The male of the ox kind, castrated at such an age that he never gains the full size of a bull; a bull-stag. Called also in some parts of England and Scotland Bull-segg.-4. In

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commercial slang, (a) an outside irregular dealer in stocks, not a member of the exchange. (b) A person who applies for the allotment of shares in a joint-stock company, not because he wishes to hold the shares, but because he hopes to sell the allotment at a premium. If he fails in this he forbears to pay the deposit, and the allotment is forfeited.

Stag (stag), v. i. In com. to act as a stag on the stock exchange. See STAG. Stag-beetle (stag'bě-tl), n. A name of beetles of the genus Lucanus, a genus of lamellicorn coleopterous insects, fam. Lu

canida. The common stag-beetle (Lucanus cervus) is one of the largest of British insects, distinguished by the enormous size

Stag-beetle (Lucanus cervus)

of the horny and toothed mandibles in the males, and by the rather long elbowed antennæ, which are terminated by a perfoliated club, and are composed of ten joints, the first being very long. It is common in some localities in the neighbourhood of London, and is often 2 inches long, of a black colour. See LUCANIDE.

Stag-dance (stag'dans), n. A dance performed by males only; a bull-dance. [United States.]

Stage (staj), n. [0. Fr. estage, Mod. Fr. étage, Pr. estatge, a stage, a story of a house, from a hypothetical L. form staticum, from sto, statum, to stand (whence station, &c.) 1. A floor or story of a house. Wickliffe.2. A floor or platform of any kind elevated above the ground or common surface, as for an exhibition of something to public view; as, a stage for a mountebank; a stage for speakers in public. High on a stage be placed to the view.' Shak. are set on stages in the sight and Queen Elizabeth.

We princes.. view of all the world.

3. A floor elevated for the convenience of performing mechanical work and the like; a scaffold; a staging; as, seamen use floating stages, and stages suspended by the side of a ship, for caulking and repairing.-4. The raised platform on which theatrical performances are exhibited; the flooring in a theatre on which the actors perform; hence, the stage, the theatre; the profession of representing dramatic compositions; the drama, as acted or exhibited; as, to take to the stage; to regard the stage as a school of elocution.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players. Shak. Lo! where the stage, the poor degraded stage, Holds its warped mirror to a gaping age. Sprague.

5. A place where anything is publicly exhibited; a field for action; the scene of any noted action or career; the spot where any remarkable affair occurs.

When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools.

Shak.

6. A place of rest on a journey, or where a relay of horses is taken, or where a stagecoach changes horses; a station; as, when we arrive at the next stage we will take some refreshment. Hence-7. The distance between two places of rest on a road; as, a stage of 15 miles. 'Performing the journey by easy stages.' Smiles.

Brother, you err, 'tis fifteen miles a day,
His stage is ten.
Beau. & Fl

8. A single step of a gradual process; degree of advance; degree of progression, either in increase or decrease, in rising or falling, or in any change of state; as, the several stages of a war; the stages of civilization or improvement; stages of growth in an animal or plant; stages of a disease, of decline or recovery.

Such a polity is suited only to a particular stage in the progress of society. Macaulay.

9. A coach or other carriage running regularly from one place to another for the con

STAGGER

veyance of passengers, &c.; a stage-coach. 'A parcel sent by the stage.' Cowper.

I went in the six-penny stage. Swift. 10. In arch. the part between one splayed projection and another in a Gothic buttress; also, the horizontal division of a window separated by transoms.-11. A wooden structure on a beach to assist in landing; a landing-place at a quay or pier. It sometimes rises and subsides with the tide, or is lowered or raised to suit the varying height of water. 12. In optics, the platform on which an object is placed to be viewed by a microscope. Staget (staj), v.t. To exhibit publicly, as in

a theatre. Shak. Stage-box (stáj'boks), n.

A box in a theatre close to the stage. Simmonds. Stage-carriage (staj'kar-rij), n. A stage

[graphic]

coach.

Stage-coach (stāj'kōch), n. A coach that runs by stages; or a coach that runs regularly every day or on stated days between two places, for the conveyance of passengers. Stage-coachman (staj'koch-man), n. A driver of a stage-coach.

Stage-direction (staj-di-rek'shon), n. A written or printed instruction as to action or the like, which accompanies the text of a play. 'Like the barbarous monsters in the stage-direction in King Lear.' Thackeray.

Stage-door (stāj'dōr), n. The door giving access to the stage and the parts behind it in a theatre; the actors' and workmen's entrance to a theatre.

Stage - driver (staj'driv-êr), n. One who drives a stage-coach.

Stage-effect (staj'ef-fekt), n. Theatrical effect; effect produced artificially and designedly.

Stagely + (stajli), a. Pertaining to a stage; becoming the theatre; theatrical. Jer. Taylor.

Stage-manager (staj-man'aj-ér), n. In theatres, one who superintends the production and performance of a play, and who regulates all matters behind the scenes. Stage-play (stáj'pla), n. A theatrical entertainment; a play adapted for representation on the stage.

The clause .. distinguishes satire properly from stage-plays which are all of one action, and one continued series of action. Dryden. An actor on Stage-player (staj'pla-èr), n. the stage; one whose occupation is to represent characters on the stage. 'Stage-players or actors.' Arbuthnot.

Stager (stāj'ér), n. 1. A player. B. Jonson. [Rare.]-2. One that has long acted on the stage of life; a person of experience, or of skill derived from long experience.

One experienced stager, that had baffled twenty traps and tricks before, discovered the plot. Sir R. L'Estrange. You will find most of the old stagers still stationary there. Sir W. Scott.

3. A horse employed in drawing a stagecoach.

Stagery (staj'er-i), n. Exhibition on the stage. A piece of stagery, or scene-work.' Milton.

Stage-struck (staj'struk), a. Smitten with a love for the stage; possessed by a passion for the drama; seized by a passionate desire to become an actor.

'You are a precious fool, Jack Bunce,' said Cleveland, half angry, and, in despite of himself, half diverted by the false tones and exaggerated gesture of the stage-struck pirate. Sir W. Scott. Stag-evil (stag'e-vil), n. A disease in horses, tetanus or lock-jaw.

Stage-wagon (stáj'wag-on), n. 1. A wagon for conveying goods and passengers, by stages, at regularly appointed times.-2.† A stage-coach.

Stage-whisper (stāj'whis-pèr), n. A loud whisper, as by an actor in a theatre, meant to be heard by those to whom it is not professedly addressed; an aside.

This was conveyed in the tone in which ladies usually give admonitions to servants in company, that is to say, a low one; but which, like a stage-whisper, from its peculiar emphasis, is most distinctly heard by everybody present. Dickens.

Stage - wright (stāj'rit), n. A dramatic author; a play-wright. Your stagers and your stage-wrights too.' B. Jonson Stagey (stāj'i), a. Of or pertaining to the stage; resembling the manner of dramatic performers; theatrical, in a depreciatory sense; as, to have a very stagey manner. Staggard (stag'ard), n. [From stag.] A stag four years old. Stagger (stag'er), v.i. [From old (and prov.) staker, to stagger, from root of stake, comp. to

STAGGER

stick fast; O.D. staggeren, Dan. dial. staggre, Sc. stacher, stacker, Icel. stakra, to stagger, to totter.] 1. To reel; to move to one side and the other in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness.

Deep was the wound; he stagger'd with the blow. Dryden. 2. To fail; to cease to stand firm; to begin to give way. The enemy staggers.' Addison.-3. To hesitate; to begin to doubt and waver in purpose; to become less confident or determined.

He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. Rom. iv. 20. Stagger (stager), v. t. 1. To cause to reel. Shak. 2. To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock. 'The question did at first so stagger me.' Shak. To stagger credibility.' Burke.

When a prince fails in honour and justice, it is enough to stagger his people in their allegiance. Sir R. L'Estrange. Stagger (stag'ėr), n. 1. A sudden swing or reel of the body, as if the person were about to fall.

The individual. . . advanced with a motion that alternated between a reel and a stagger.

G. A. Sala.

2. pl. A sensation which causes reeling. Shak.-3. pl. Perplexity; bewilderment; confusion.

I will throw thee from my care for ever Into the staggers, and the careless lapse Of youth and ignorance. Shak. 4. pl. A disease of horses and cattle attended with reeling or giddiness. In the horse it appears in two forms-mad or sleepy staggers and grass or stomach staggers; the former of which arises from inflammation of the brain, the latter being due to acute indigestion.

Stagger-bush (stag'èr-bush), n. An American plant, Andromeda mariana, growing in low sandy places near the coast, having large white nodding flowers and leathery leaves. It is said to be poisonous to sheep that eat it.

Staggeringly (stag'ér-ing-li), adv.

In a

staggering or reeling manner; with hesitation or doubt.

Stagger-wort (stag'èr-wêrt), n. Same as Ragwort.

Stag-hound (stag'hound), n. A large and powerful kind of hound used in hunting the stag or red-deer.

Staging (staj'ing), n. 1. A temporary structure of posts and boards for support, as for building; scaffolding. 2. The business of running or managing, or the act of travelling in stage-coaches.

Stagirite (staj'i-rīt), n. See STAGYRITE. Stagnancy (stag'nan-si), n. [See STAGNANT.] 1. The state of being stagnant or without motion, flow, or circulation, as in a fluid; stagnation.-2. Anything stagnant; a stagnant pool. Stagnancies left by the flood.' Cotton.

Stagnant (stag'nant), a. [L. stagnans, stagnantis, ppr. of stagno, to stagnate. See STAGNATE.] 1. Not flowing; not running in a current or stream; motionless; standing; hence, impure from want of motion; as, a stagnant lake or pond; stagnant blood in the veins.-2. Inert; inactive; sluggish; torpid; dull; not brisk; as, business is stagnant. The gloomy slumber of the stagnant soul.' Johnson.

For him a stagnant life was not worth living. Palfrey. Stagnantly (stag'nant-li), adv. In a stagnant or still, motionless, inactive manner. Stagnate (stag'nāt), v.i. pret. & pp. stagnated; ppr. stagnating. [L. stagno, stagnatum, to stagnate; stagnum, a piece of standing water, a pool (whence stank and tank).] 1. To cease to run or flow; to be motionless; to have no current; as, water that stagnates in a pool or reservoir soon becomes foul

I am fifty winters old;

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of the blood; the stagnation of water or air; the stagnation of vapours.-2. The cessation of action or of brisk action; the state of being dull; as, the stagnation of business. A spot of dull stagnation, without light Or power of movement, seem'd my soul. Tennyson. Stag-worm (stag’wèrm), n. An insect that is troublesome to deer. Stagyrite (staj'i-rīt), n. An appellation given to Aristotle from the place of his birth, Stagira, in Macedonia. Stahlian (stäl'i-an), n. A believer in or supporter of Stahlianism. Stahlianism, Stahlism (stäl'i-an-izm, stäl′izm), n. The doctrine of Stahl, a German physician, who held the theory of a vital force or anima residing in the body, whose motions it directed. See also PHLOGISTON. Staid (stad), pret. & pp. of stay. Staid (stad), a. [From stay, to stop.] Sober; grave; steady; sedate; regular; not wild, volatile, flighty, or fanciful; as, a staid elderly person. My staider senses.' Shak. 'Staid wisdom.' Milton.

The doctor, who was what is called a staid, discreet personage, appeared somewhat unwilling to gratify our curiosity. T. Hook.

Staidly (stad'li), adv. In a staid manner; calmly; soberly. Staidness (stad'nes), n. The state or quality of being staid; sobriety; gravity; sedateness; steadiness; regularity. The staidness and sobriety of age." Dryden. Staig (stag), n. [See STAG.] A young horse not yet broken in for work or riding; a stallion. [Scotch.]

Stain (stan), v.t. [An abbrev. of distain (which see); comp. sport, from disport.] 1. To discolour by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; to stain clothes with vegetable juice. An image like thyself, all stain'd with gore.' Shak.-2. To colour, as wood, glass, or the like, by a chemical or other process; to tinge with colours which chemically combine with, or which penetrate, the substance of; as, to stain wood; to stain glass. 'Turned-up bedsteads made of stained wood.' Dickens.-3. To dye; to tinge with a different colour; as, to stain cloth.-4. To impress with figures or patterns in colours different from the ground; as, to stain paper for hangings.-5. To soil or sully with guilt or infamy; to tarnish; to bring reproach on; as, to stain the character; stained with guilt.-6. To darken; to dim; to obscure; to eclipse.

She stains the ripest virgins of her age. Beau, & FL Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun. Shak. 7. To deface; to disfigure; to impair, as shape, beauty, excellence, or the like. And but he's something stained with grief.' Shak. I'll corrupt her manners, stain her beauty. Shak. 8. To corrupt; to pervert; to deprave. Shak. -SYN. To spot, blot, soil, dye, sully, discolour, disgrace, taint.

Stain (stán), n. 1. A spot; discoloration from foreign matter; as, a stain on a garment or cloth.-2. A natural spot of a colour different from the ground. 'Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains.' Pope.

Under her breast. . . lies a mole.
.. You do remember
This stain upon her?

Shak.

3. A slight taste or quality; a tincture; a tinge.

You have some stain of soldier in you; let me ask you a question. Shak.

4. Taint of guilt or evil; tarnish; disgrace; reproach; as, the stain of sin. "Some stain or blemish in a name of note.' Tennyson. Our opinion is, I hope, without any blemish or stain of heresy. Hooker.

5. Cause of reproach; shame; disgrace. Hereby I will lead her that is the praise and yet the stain of all womankind. Sir P. Sidney. SYN. Blot, spot, taint, pollution, sully, blemish, tarnish, disgrace, infamy, shame. Stain (stán), v.i. To take stains; to become stained ar soiled; to grow dim; to be obscured. 'If virtue's gloss will stain with any soil.' Shak

Stainand (stan'and), a. In her, a term applied to the colours sanguine and tenné when used in the figures called abatements or marks of disgrace. Stained (stand), p. and a. 1. Having a stain or stains; discoloured; spotted; dyed; blotted; tarnished.-2. Produced by staining. 'Wash away thy country's stained spots.' Shak.-Stained glass, glass painted with me

STAKE

tallic oxides or chlorides, ground up with proper fluxes, and fused into its surface at a moderate heat. Stained glass is employed in ornamenting the windows of churches as well as of other public and private buildings. The colours produced are all transparent, and therefore can be viewed only by transmitted light. 1. One who stains, Stainer (stan'ér), n. blots, or tarnishes.-2. A workman engaged in staining: often used as the second element of a compound, as in paper-stainer. Stainless (stan'les), a. 1. Free from stains or spots. Faultless length and stainless hue. Sir P. Sidney.-2. Free from the reproach of guilt; free from sin; immaculate. A stainless wife.' Tennyson. Stainlessly (stan'les-li), adv. In a stainless manner; with freedom from stain. Stair (star), n. [O. E. stayre, steyer, lit. that by which a person sties or mounts (see STY); A. Sax. stæger, from stigan, Icel. stiga, G. steigen, to ascend, to climb, whence also stile (on a fence), and the first part of stirrup.] Originally, any succession of steps to mount by. 'Cords made like a tackled stair.' Shak. Now, usually a succession of steps rising one above the other arranged as a way between two points at different heights in a building, &c.: used often in plural in same sense, while the singular is also employed to mean a single step. 'A winding staire.' Chaucer. On the highest stayre of the honourable stage of womanhead. Spenser. Up stairs and down stairs.' Shak. Up the cork-screw stair.' Tennyson. 'Up a flight of stairs into the hall.' Tenny

son.

The stairs, as he treads on them, kiss his feet. Shak. Satan, ... now on the lower stair That scaled by steps of gold to heaven gate. Milton. -Pair of stairs, a set or flight of steps or stairs (see PAIR); more properly perhaps two flights. See extract.

It is usual to divide the stair, when the height of the stories is considerable, into flights or sections separated by landing-places, and each flight might not improperly be considered an independent stair. Now, in the great majority of stairs, there was but one intermediate landing place, and of course the whole ascent from floor to floor was divided into two flights or stairs, and thus formed a pair of stairs. G. P. Marsh. -Flight of stairs, a succession of steps in a continuous line or from one landing to another. - Below stairs, in the basement or lower part of a house. Up stairs, in the upper part of a house, Stair-carpet (står kär-pet), n. A carpet for covering stairs.

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Staircase (star'kās), n. The part of a building which contains the stairs. Staircases are straight or winding. The straight are called fliers or direct fliers.-Staircase shells, shells of the genus Solarium. Stair-foot (star'fyt), n. The bottom of a stair. Bacon.

Stairhead (star'hed), n. The top of a stair

case.

Stair-rod (star'rod), n. A metallic rod for holding a stair-carpet to its place. Stairway (star'wä), n. A staircase. Moore. Stair-wire (star'wir), n. A stair-rod.

The very stair-wires made your eyes wink, they were so glittering. Dickens. Staith (stath), n. [A. Sax. stæth, a shore, bank, a landing-place, station; Icel. stöth, a harbour, a station, from root of stead, stand.] An elevated wharf with a chute for shipping coal, &c. [North of England.] Staithman (stath'man), n. A man engaged in weighing and shipping coals at a staith. Staithwort (stath'wert), n. Another name for Colewort. Stake (stāk), n. [A. Sax. staca, L.G. stake, D. staak, Dan, stage; from the root of stick, stock.] 1. A piece of wood or timber sharpened at one end and set in the ground, or prepared for setting, as a support to something, as part of a fence, &c. Thus stakes are used to support vines, to support hedges, salmon nets, &c.

Sharp stakes, pluckt out of hedges
They pitched in the ground.
Shak.
Was never salmon yet that shone so fair
Among the stakes of Dee.

Kingsley.

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STAKE

death, by burning.-4. That which is pledged or wagered; that which is laid down to abide the issue of a contest, to be gained by victory or lost by defeat; something hazarded. Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones. Byron. One who had a stake in the county.' Dickens.

The game was so contrived that one particular cast took up the whole stake, and when some others came up, you laid down. Arbuthnot.

5. The state of being laid or pledged as a wager; the state of being put at hazard: preceded by at; as, his honour is at stake.

Hath any of you great interest at stake in a distant part of the world? Nath he ventured a good share of his fortune? Bp. Atterbury.

6. A small anvil to straighten cold work, or to cut and punch upon. Moxon.-7. In shipbuilding, one in the regular ranges of planks on the bottom and sides of a ship reaching from the stem to the stern. Weale. Stake (sták), v.t. pret. & pp staked; ppr. staking. 1. To set and plant like a stake; to fasten, support, or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or other plants.

I have a soul of lead

So stakes me to the ground I cannot move. Shak. 2. To mark the limits of by stakes: with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road or the ground for a canal.-3. To wager; to pledge; to put hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency. I'll stake yon lamb that near the fountain plays. Pope. Thus in our country the dearest interests of parties have frequently been staked on the results of the researches of antiquaries. Macaulay.

4. To pierce with a stake. Spectator. Stake-fellow (stak'fel-lö), n. One tied or burned at the stake with another. Southey. Stake-head (sták'hed), n. In rope-making, a stake with wooden pins to keep the strands

apart.

Stake-holder (sták'höld-ér), n. 1. One who holds stakes, or with whom the bets are deposited when a wager is laid.-2. In law, one with whom a deposit is made by two or more who lay claim to it.

Stake-net (stak net), n. A form of net for catching salmon, consisting of a sheet of net-work stretched upon stakes fixed into the ground, generally in rivers or friths, where the sea ebbs and flows, with contrivances for entangling and securing the fish. Staker, To stagger. Chaucer. Staktometer (stak-tom'et-ér), n. [Gr. staktos, falling by drops, and metron, a measure Lit a drop measure. A glass tube having a bulb in the middle, and tapering to a fine orifice at one end, used for ascertaining the number of drops in equal bulks of different liquids. Called also Stalag

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water containing particles of carbonate of lime through fissures and pores of rocks. Similar masses are frequently to be seen also depending from stone bridges or elsewhere. The water being evaporated leaves a deposit of lime behind it, which, by the continued trickling of the water, gradually increases in size. As some of the water

often drops to the floor also, a mass of the same kind is formed below, called a stalagmite. See STALAGMITE. [The plural is regu lar, sta-lak'tits, but Byron unwarrantably uses sta-lak'ti-tēz.]

Stalactitest (sta-lak-ti'tēz), n. A stalactite. Woodward.

Stalactitic, Stalactitical (sta-lak-titik, sta-lak-tit'ik-al), a. Having the form or character of stalactite; containing stalactites. Stalactitiform (sta-lak-tit'i-form), a. Same as Stalactiform.

Stalagmite (sta-lag'mit), n. [Gr. stalagmos, a dropping, from stalazó, to drop. See STALACTITE.] A deposit of stalactitic matter on the floor of a cavern. Simultaneously with the formation of the stalactite a similar but upward growth takes place at the spot vertically below where the successive drops of water fall and evaporate. This sometimes forms continuous sheets over the surface, sometimes rises unto columns, which meet and blend with the stalactites above. See STALACTITE. Stalagmitic, Stalagmitical (sta-lag-mit'ik, sta-lag-mit'ik-al), a Relating to or having the form of stalagmite. Stalagmitically (sta-lag-mit'ik-al-li), adv. In the form or manner of stalagmite. Stalagmometer (sta-lag-mom'et-ér), n. Same as Staktometer.

Stalder (stal'dér), n. [From stall, to set or place.] A wooden frame to set casks on. Stalding (stald'ing), n. A counterfeit coin of the reign of Edward I., worth about 4d., manufactured abroad and surreptitiously introduced into England.

Stale (stál), a. [From same root as stall, the meaning being from standing long; comp. O.D. stel, that remains standing, quiet, ancient. See STALL, n.] 1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavour from being long kept; as, stale beer. That stale, old, mouseeaten, dry cheese.' Shak.-2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stale bread, or that which has been baked at least twenty-four hours. 3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; long past prime; decayed.

A stale virgin sets up a shop in a place where she is not known. Spectator.

4. Out of regard from use or long familiarity; trite; common; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; musty; as, a stale remark. A proverb never stale in thrifty mind,' Shak 'Within a dull, stale, tired bed.' Shak.

They reason and conclude by precedent,

And own stale nonsense which they ne'er invent. Pope. Stale (stal), n. [From STALE, a.] 1. That which has become vapid and tasteless or is worn out by use, as old, vapid beer, beer kept until flat. Hence-2. A prostitute. I stand dishonour'd that have gone about To link my dear friend to a common stale. Shak. Stale (stal), v.t. pret. & pp. staled; ppr. staling. To make vapid, useless, cheap, or worthless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out.

Shak.

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Stale (stál), n. [0. Fr. estal, Mod. Fr. étal, place, stall, market, from O. H. G. stal, stall.] 1. Something set or offered to view as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a bait; a decoy; a stool-pigeon; specifically, the form of a bird set up to allure a hawk or other bird of prey. Mir. for Mags.

Still as he went he crafty stales did lay. Spenser.
A pretence of kindness is the universal stale to all
base projects.
Dr. H. More.

2. A stalking-horse.

B. Jonson.
A stale at

Dull, stupid Lentulus, My stale with whom I stalk. 3. In chess-playing, stale-mate. chess.' Bacon.-4. A laughing-stock; a dupe; an object of ridicule.

I pray you, sir, is it your will

To make a stale of me amongst these mates? Shak. 5. [See STALE, v. i.] Urine, as of horses and cattle.

Stale (stál), v.i. [D. and G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, to make water, from

STALKING

O.H.G. stal, A. Sax. stall, a stable; or from O.Fr. estal, a standing still, estaler, to come to a stand, the ultimate origin being the same.] To make water; to discharge urine, as horses and cattle. Hudibras. Stale (stál), n. [A. Sax. stel, stela, L.G. and D. steel, G. stiel, a stalk, stock, handle, probably from root of stalk.] A long handle; as, the stale of a rake.

Stalely (stal'li), adv. 1. In a stale manner.-2. Of old; of a long time.

All your promised mountains And seas I am so stalely acquainted with. B. Jonson. Stale-mate (stāl'mát), n. In chess-playing, the position of the king when stalled or set, that is, when so situated that, though not in check, he cannot move without being placed in check, there being no other available move. In this case the game is drawn. Stale-mate (stál'mat), v.t. To subject to a stale-mate in chess; hence, to put in a corner; to put or bring to a stand; to perplex completely; to nonplus. 'I stalemated him.' Macmillan's Mag. Staleness (stal'nes), n. The state of being stale; as, (a) vapidness; the state of having lost the life or flavour; oldness; as, the staleness of beer or other liquors; the staleness of provisions. (b) The state of being out of regard; triteness; commonness; as, the staleness of an observation. Stalk (stak), n. [Probably from Dan. stilk, Icel. stilkr, a stalk, and akin to E. stale, a handle, the vowel being modified by the influence of the verb to stalk or other words. In last sense directly from this verb.] 1. The stem or main axis of a plant; that part of a plant which rises immediately from the root, and which usually supports the leaves, flowers, and fruit; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of hemp.-2. The pedicel of a flower, or the peduncle that supports the fructification of a plant, called the flower-stalk.-3. The stem of a quill; anything resembling the stalk or stem of a plant; as, the stalk of a spoon; the stalk of a tobacco-pipe, &c. 4. In arch. an ornament in the Corinthian capital which resembles the stalk of a plant, and which is sometimes fluted. From it the volutes and helices spring5. One of the upright pieces of a ladder in which the rounds or steps are placed.6. A high, proud, stately step or walk. 'With martial stalk.' Shak.

The which with monstrous stalk behind him stept, And ever as he went due watch upon himi kept. Spenser. Stalk (stak), v.i. [A. Sax. stælcan, to go softly or warily; Dan. stalke, to stalk; from stem of steal, meaning literally to walk in a stealthy manner. As to form of word comp. talk (and tell), walk.] 1 To walk softly and warily; to walk in a sly or stealthy manner.

Bertram

Stalks close behind her like a witch's fiend,
Pressing to be employed.
Dryden.

2. To walk behind a stalking-horse; to pursue game by approaching softly and warily behind a cover.

The king crept under the shoulder of his led horse and said, I must stalk. Bacon.

3. To walk with high and proud steps; to walk in a lofty or dignified manner; to pace slowly: sometimes implying the affectation of dignity.

Addison.

With manly mien he stalk'd along the ground. Dryden. Then stalking through the deep He fords the ocean. Stalk (stak), v.t. In sporting, to pursue stealthily; to pursue behind a cover; to watch and follow warily for the purpose of killing.

As for shooting a man from behind a wall, it is cruelty like to stalking a deer. Sir W. Scott. When a lion is very hungry, and lying in wait, the sight of an animal may make him commence stalking it. Dr. Livingstone. Stalked (stakt), a. Having a stalk or stem. Stalker (stak'ér), n. 1. One who stalks.

2. A kind of fishing-net. Stalk-eyed (stąk ́id), a. In zool. applied to certain Crustacea named Podophthalmata, which have the eyes set at the end of footstalks of variable length. The lobster, shrimp, and crab are examples of this

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STALKING-HORSE

Stalking-horse (stak'ing-hors), n. 1. A horse, or figure made like a horse, behind which a fowler conceals himself from the sight of the game which he is aiming to kill. Hence 2. Anything thrust forward, to conceal a more important object; a mask; a pretence.

Hypocrisy is the devil's stalking-horse under an af. fectation of simplicity and religion. Sir R. L'Estrange. Stalkless (stak'les), a. Having no stalk. Stalklet (stak'let), n. In bot. a secondary petiole; a petiolule; the stalk of a leaflet. Stalky (stak'i), a. Hard as a stalk; resembling a stalk. 'At the top bears a great stalky head.' Mortimer.

Stall (stal), n. [A. Sax. steall, stall, place, station, stall, stable; Icel. stallr, a shelf or other support, a stall; D. stal, G. stall, Dan. stald, a stall, a stable, &c.; O.H.G. stallan, G. stellen, to place. The ultimate root is that of stand. ] 1. The stand or place where a horse or an ox is kept and fed; the division of a stable, or the apartment for one horse or ox; as, the stable contains eight or ten stalls.-2. A stable; a place for horses or cattle.

At last he found a stall where oxen stood. Dryden. 3. A bench, form, or kind of table in the open air, where anything is exposed to sale. 'Nature's coarser wares that lie on the stall, exposed to the transient view of every common eye.' Glanville.-4. A small house or shed, either in the open air or within a large building, in which merchandise is exposed for sale, or in which an occupation is carried on; as, a butcher's stall.-5. A fixed seat inclosed, either wholly or partially, at the

Stalls, Higham Ferrers Church, Northamptonshire. back and sides, in the choir or chancel of a cathedral, collegiate church, &c., and mostly appropriated to some dignitary of such churches.-6. The chief seat on the dais in a domestic hall. Lydgate.-7. A highclass seat in a theatre.-8. In mining, an opening made between pillars in the direction that the work is progressing or transversely.-9. The name given by garotters and pocket-pickers to the parties who walk before (fore-stall) and behind (back-stall) the person who is to operate and his victim, so as to conceal the crime, make off with the booty, and otherwise assist the escape of the actual robber.

Stall (stal), v. t. 1. To put into a stall or stable, or to keep in a stall; as, to stall a horse. 'Where king Latinus then his oxen stall'd.' Dryden.-2. To fix or fasten so as to prevent escape; to secure.

When as thine eye hath chose the dame,
And stall'd the deer that thou shouldst strike.
Shak.

3. To install; to place in an office with the customary formalities.

And see another as I see thee now,
Deck'd in thy rights, as thou art stall'd in mine.

Shak

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Stall-feed (stal'fed), v. t. To feed and fatten in a stall or stable, or on dry fodder; as, to stall-feed an ox.

Stalling (stal'ing), n. Stabling.

Hire us some fair chamber for the night, And stalling for the horses. Tennyson.

Stallinger (stal'in-jér), n. One who keeps a stall. [Local.] Stalling-ken (stal'ing-ken), n. A house for receiving stolen goods. Dekker. [Old slang.] Stallion (stal'yun), n. [O.E. stalon, stallant, O.Fr. estalon (Mod. Fr. étalon), a stallion; It. stallone; from O. H.G. stal, E. stall; lit. the horse kept in the stall. See STALL] A horse not castrated; an entire horse; a horse kept for breeding purposes. Stallman (stal'man), n. A man who keeps

a stall

The stallman saw my father had (a strong fancy) for the book the moment he laid his hands upon it. Sterne. Stall-reader (stal'red-ér), n. One who reads books at the stall where they are sold.

Cries the stall-reader, Bless us, what a word on A title page is this!' Milton. Stalwart, Stalworth (stal'wért,stal'werth), a. [O.E. stalword, stallworth, from A. Sax. stalweorth, lit. worthy of place, from stal, stall, place, position; hence estimable, brave. See STALL] 1. Brave; bold; redoubted; daring. A stalwart tiller of the soil.' Prof. Wilson.

Sir W. Scott.

Well by his visage you might know He was a stalworth knight, and keen. 2. Tall and strong; large and strong in frame. [The spelling stalworth is now obsolete or obsolescent.]

Stalwartht (stal'wêrth),a. Same as Stalwart. Stalwartness (stal'wêrt-nes), n. The state or quality of being stalwart. Stalworthness (stal'werth-nes), n. Same as Stalwartness.

Stambha (stamb'ha), n. See LÂT.

Stamen (sta'men), n. pl. Stamens (sta'menz) (only in the fourth sense) or (in the other three senses) Stamina (stam'i-na). [L. stamen, pl.stamina, the warp of a web, a thread, the fibre of wood; Gr. stemon, the warp of a web, from root sta, to stand.] 1. A thread, especially a thread of the warp; the warp in the ancient upright loom at which the weaver stood upright instead of sitting. 2. [Probably only used in the plural.] The fixed, firm part of a body, which supports it or gives it its strength and solidity; as, the bones are the stamina of animal bodies; the ligneous parts of trees are the stamina which constitute their strength. Hence3. pl. Whatever constitutes the principal strength or support of anything; power of endurance; staying power; long lasting strength or vigour; backbone; as, the sta mina of a constitution or of life; the stamina of a state.

He succeeded to great captains who had sapped the whole stamina and resistance of the contest. De Quincey.

The tea (in coffee-houses) is usually of the weakest, its constitution is delicate, it wants stamina and vitality. Mrs. Riddell.

4. In bot. the male organ of fructification in plants, formed principally of cellular tissue. It is situated immediately within the petals, and is composed, in most cases, of three parts, the filament, the anther, and the pollen, of which the two latter are essential, the other not. The stamens and pistils constitute the sexual or reproductive organs of plants. Generally they both exist in the same

a a, Stamens. s, Stigma.

STAMMERING

flower, which is thus said to be hermaphrodite or perfect. The number of stamens varies in different plants, from one to a hundred or more. With respect to their directions they are named erect, inflexed, reflexed, spreading, ascending, declinate; and their insertions with regard to the ovary are said to be hypogynous, epigynous, or perigynous. (See these terms.) It was on the number of stamens and their arrangements and relations, that Linnæus founded the classes of his sexual system of plants. Stament (sta'men),n. See STAMIN. Chaucer. Stamened (sta'mend), a. Furnished with

stamens.

Stamfortist (stam-for'tis), n. Same as Sta

nium.

Stamint (sta'min), n. [O. Fr. estamine, Fr. étamine, alight kind of stuff, a bolting cloth, from O. Fr. estame, It. stame, yarn, worsted, from L. stamen, a fibre. See STAMEN. STAMMEL.] A slight woollen stuff; linseywoolsey. Chaucer.

Stamina (stam'i-na), n. Plural of stamen (which see).

Staminal (stam'i-nal), a. Pertaining to stamens or stamina; consisting in stamens or stamina. Balfour.

Staminate (stam'i-nat), a. Furnished with

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mineous.

[L.

Stamineous (sta-min'é-us), a. [L. stamin eus, consisting of threads, from stamen, a fibre.] 1. Consisting of stamens.-2. Possessing stamens.-3. Pertaining to the stamen or attached to it; as, a stamineous nectary. Staminidium (sta-mi-nid'i-um), n. pl. Staminidia (sta-mi-nid'i-a). [L. stamen, staminis, a stamen, and Gr. eidos, resemblance.] The antheridium, an organ in cryptogamic plants equivalent to a stamen. Staminiferous (sta-mi-nif'er-us), a. stamen, staminis, a stamen, and fero, to bear.] Bearing or having stamens.-A staminiferous flower is one which has stamens without a pistil.-A staminiferous nectary is one that has stamens growing on it. Staminode, Staminodium (stam'in-öd, stam-i-no'di-um), n. [L. stamen, and Gr. eidos, shape.] An abortive stamen, or an organ resembling an abortive stamen. Stammelt (stam'el), n. [O. Fr. estamet, a coarse woollen cloth; estame, a woollen stuff; from L. stamen, a thread. See STAMIN.] 1. A kind of woollen cloth, which seems to have been often of a red colour. Hence-2. A coarse kind of red, inferior to fine scarlet. B. Jonson.

Stammel + (stam'el), a. Of a reddish colour; pertaining to the cloth called stammel.

And see to yon pretty wench, Adam, who comes tripping through them all with her milkpail. She has a stammel waistcoat, like your favourite Cissiy Sutherland. Sir W. Scott.

Stammer (stam'èr), v.i. [A freq. form from a root stam; A. Sax. stamor, stamer, Icel. stamr, stammr, stammering, speaking with difficulty; O.E. stameren, stamber, to stammer; Sc. stammer, to stumble; L.G. stammern, D. stameren, stamelen, G. stammeln, Icel. stamma, to stammer. Allied to stumble.] To make involuntary breaks or pauses in speaking; to hesitate or falter in speaking; and hence, to speak with stops and difficulty; to stutter. The new strong wine of love that made my tongue so stammer and trip.' Tennyson.

Your hearers would rather you should be less correct than perpetually stammering, which is one of the worst solecisms in rhetoric. Swift. Stammer (stam'èr), v.t. To utter or pronounce with hesitation or imperfectly: frequently with out. His pale lips faintly stammered out a "No." Dickens. Stammer (stam'èr), n. Defective utterance; a stutter; as, to be troubled with a stammer. See STAMMERING. Stammerer (stam'èr-er), n. One that stammers, stutters, or hesitates in speaking. Stammering (stam'èr-ing), n. The act of stopping or hesitating in speaking; an affection of the faculty of speech characterized by irregular, imperfect, or spasmodic actions of the muscles concerned in articulation. It manifests itself in a difficulty in beginning the enunciation of words, especially such as begin with an explosive consonant, or in a spasmodic and for a time an incontrollable reiteration of the same syllable after the word is begun; this latter defect

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STAMMERING

being also called stuttering. Stammering is always increased by emotional disturbance, and is much mitigated, and often cured, by the patient acquiring confidence in himself, never attempting to speak in a hurry or when the chest is empty of air, or by reading measured sentences slowly and with deliberation.

Stammering (stam'ér-ing), a.

Character

ized by spasmodic or defective speech; hesitating in speech; apt to stammer; stuttering. Stammering tongues.' Dryden. 'Stammering accents." Dr. Caird. Stammeringly (stam'èr-ing-li), adv. With stammering; with stops or hesitation in speaking

Stamp (stamp), v.t. [Icel. stampa, Dan. stampe, Sw. stampa, D. stampen, G. stampfen, to stamp with the feet, nasalized forms from stap, stem of D. stappen, Icel. stappa, G. stapfen, to step, to set down the feet, to stamp. Akin step. The Germanic word passed into the Romance languages: 0. Fr. estamper, Mod. Fr. étamper, It. stampare, Sp. estampar.] 1. To strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.

Under my feet I stamp thy cardinal's hat. Shak, He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. Dryden. 2. To impress with some mark or figure; to mark with an impression; as, to stamp a plate with arms or initials. Stamped coin.' Shak. 3. To impress; to imprint; to fix deeply; as, to staip virtuous principles on the heart. 'Wax. wherein is stamped the semblance of a devil.' Shak.

God has stamped no original characters on our minds, wherein we may read his being. Locke.

Stamps God's own name upon a lie just made, To turn a penny in the way of trade. Cowper. 4 To coin; to mint; to make current. Shak. 5. To affix a stamp (as a postage or receipt stamp) to; as, to stampa letter or newspaper. 6. To cut into various forms with a stamp. 7. To crush by the downward action of a kind of pestle, as ore in a stamping-mill.To stamp out, to extinguish, as fire, by stamping with the foot on; hence, to extirpate, as a disease which has broken out in a herd of cattle, by destroying the animal or animals affected; hence, to extirpate generally; to eradicate; to exterminate; to

suppress

A capital thing were these proverbs and sayings for stamping out what were called notions of uppeshness in children, or hopes of having everything their own way. IV. Chambers.

Stamp (stamp), v.i. To strike the foot forcibly downward. A ramping fool to brag and stamp and swear.' Shak.

Stamp (stamp), n. 1. The act of stamping; as, a stamp of the foot. And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls.' Shak.-2. Any instrument for making impressions on other bodies; an engraved block, or the like, by which a mark may be delivered by pressure. 'Tis gold so pure,

It cannot bear the stamp without alloy. Dryden. 3. A mark imprinted; an impression. 'The rank is but the guinea stamp.' Burns.

That sacred name gives ornament and grace,
And, like his stamp, makes basest metals pass.
Dryden.

4. That which is marked; a thing stamped. 'Hanging a golden stamp about their necks.' Shak-5.1 [Fr. estampe.] A picture cut in wood or metal, or made by impression; an engraving; a plate.

At Venice they put out very curious stamps of the several edifices which are most famous for their beauty and magnificence. Addison.

6. An official mark set upon things chargeable with some duty or tax showing that the duty is paid; the impression of a publie mark or seal made by the government or its officers upon paper or parchment whereon private deeds or other legal instruments are written, for the purposes of revenue; as, the stamp upon a bond or indenture. Hence, pl. Stamps Stamp-duties. See STAMP-DUTY.-7. A small piece of paper having a certain figure impressed by government, sold to the public to be attached to a paper, letter, or document liable to duty, in order to show that such has been paid; as, a postage stamp; a receipt stamp. & An instrument for cutting out materials (as paper, leather. &c.) into various forms by a downward pressure.-9. A character or repatation, good or bad, fixed on anything.

The persons here reflected upon are of such a peculiar stamp of impiety, that they seem formed into a kind of diabolical society for the finding out new experiments in vice. South.

185

10. Currency; value derived from suffrage or attestation; authority.

The common people do not judge of vice or virtue by morality or immorality, so much as by the stamp that is set upon it by men of figure. Sir R. L'Estrange.

11. Make; cast; form; character; as, a man of the same stamp, or of a different stamp. 'A soldier of this season's stamp.' Shak.— 12. In metal. a kind of hammer or pestle raised by steam or water power for crushing or beating ores to powder; anything like a pestle used for pounding or beating. Stamp-act (stamp'akt), n. An act for regulating the imposition of stamp-duties; especially, an act passed by the British parliament in 1765, imposing a duty on all paper, vellum, and parchment used in the American colonies, and declaring all writings on unstamped inaterials to be null and void. This act roused a general opposition in the colonies, and was one cause of the revolution.

n.

Stamp - collector (stamp'kol-lek-tër), n. 1. A collector or receiver of stamp duties.2. One who collects rare or foreign stamps as articles of curiosity or the like. Stamp-distributor (stamp'dis-tri-but-ér), An official who issues or distributes government stamps. Stamp-duty (stamp'du-ti), n. A tax or duty imposed on pieces of parchment or paper, on which many species of legal instruments are written. Stamp-duties on legal instruments, such as conveyances, deeds, legacies, &c., are chiefly secured by prohibiting the reception of them in evidence unless they bear the stamp required by the law.

Stampede (stam-pēd'), n. [Amer. Sp. es. tampida, a stampede.] A sudden fright seizing upon large bodies of cattle or horses, in droves or encampments on the prairies, and causing them to run for long distances; a sudden scattering of a herd of cattle or horses; hence, any sudden flight, as of an army, in consequence of a panic.

The panic flight of the Federals at Bull Run, near the Potomac, U.S., in 1861, was a stampede. Brewer. Stampede (stam-pēd'), v.i. To take sudden flight, as if under the influence of panic

terror.

Stampede (stam-pēd'), v. t. pret. & pp. stampeded; ppr. stampeding. To cause to break off in a stampede; to cause to take to panic flight.

Horses on their first few days' journey are easily stampeded, and will sometimes stray home again. Capt. Mayne Reid. Stampedo (stam-pē’dō), n. Same as Stampede. 'A sudden stampedo or rush of horses.' W. Irving. [Rare.] Stamper (stamp'èr), n. 1. One who stamps; as, a stamper in the post-office.-2. An instrument for stamping; a stamp. Stamp-hammer (stamp'ham-mér), n. A direct-acting hammer where the hammerblock is lifted vertically, either by cams or friction-rollers, or, as is more commonly the case, by steam or water pressure acting on a piston in a closed cylinder. Percy. Stamp-head (stamp'hed), n. The heavy metal block forming the head or lower end of a bar which is lifted and let fall vertically, as in a stamping-mill. Stamping - machine (stamp'ing-ma-shen), n. A machine for forming articles or impressions by stamping, as for manufacturing pans, kettles, spoons, forks, and other articles from sheet-metal, by means of blocks, dies, and a heavy hammer. Stamping-mill (stamp'ing-mil), n. An engine by which ores are pounded by means of a stamp. Stamping-press (stamp'ing-pres), n. Same as Stamping-machine. Stamp-note (stamp'not), n. In com.a memorandum delivered by a shipper of goods to the searcher, which, when stamped by him, allows the goods to be sent off by lighter to the ship, and is the captain's authority for receiving them on board. Simmonds.

Stamp - office (stamp'of-fis), n. An office where government stamps are issued, and stamp-duties and also taxes are received. Stance (stans), n. [From L. sto, stare, to stand, through the French.] A site; a station; an area for building; a position. [Scotch. ]

The boy danced down from his stance with a galliard sort of step. Sir W. Scott. Stanch (stänsh), v. t. [O. Fr. estancher, Mod. Fr. étancher, to stop from running, to stanch,

STAND

supposed to be from a L. L. stancare, for L. stagnare, to make or be stagnant. See STAGNATE.] 1. To prevent the flow of, as blood; to stop the flow of blood from, as from a wound; to stop; to dry up.

Iron or stone laid to the neck, doth stanch the bleeding of the nose. Bacon. Then came the hermit out and bare him in, There stanch'd his wound. Tennyson.

2. To quench, as fire or as thirst; to allay the craving of. 'Covetise of men that may not be stanched.' Chaucer. To stanch his thrust (thirst).' Gower.

Stanch (stänsh), v.i. To stop, as blood; to cease to flow.

Immediately her issue of blood stanched. Luke viii. 44. Stanch (stänsh), a. [From the above verb, the literal meaning being stopped, tight, and, as applied to a ship, not leaky. See the verb.] [Written also Staunch.] 1.Strong and tight; not leaky; sound; firm; as, a stanch ship. Stancher vessels, and more sunny days.' Boyle.-2. Firm in principle; steady; constant and zealous; hearty; loyal; as, a stanch republican; a stanch friend or adherent. A stanch churchman.' Addison. Prior. In politics I hear you're stanch. 3. Close; secret; private. This is to be kept stanch and carefully watched. Locke. Stanchel (stan'shel), n. In arch. a stanchion.

Stancher (stänsh'èr), n. One who or that Stanchion (stan'shon), n. [O. Fr. estanson, which stanches or stops the flowing of blood. estançon, from estance, that which supports, from a L.L. form stantia, from L. sto, to stand.] 1. A prop or support; a post, pillar, beam, or the like, used for a support, as a piece of timber supporting one of the main parts of a roof.-2. In ship-building, an upright post or beam of different forms, used to support the deck, the quarter-rails, the nettings, awnings, and the like. Stanchion-gun (stan'shon-gun), n. A pivotgun; a boat gun for wild-duck shooting. Stanchless (stänsh'les),a. Incapable of being stanched or stopped; unquenchable; insatiable. "A stanchless avarice.' Shak. Stanchness (stänsh'nes), n. The state or quality of being stanch; as, (a) the state of being strong, sound, firm, or not leaky. To try the stanchness of the phial.' Boyle. (b) Firmness in principle; closeness of adher

ence.

Stanck, Stankt (stangk), a. [O. Fr. estanc, It. stanco, tired, wearied.] Exhausted; faint; weak; worn out; weary. Spenser. Stand (stand), v.i. pret. & pp. stood; ppr. standing. [A. Sax. standan, pret. stod, pp. standen, Icel. standa, O. H. G. standan, stantan, Goth. standan, D. staan, G. stehen; from a root common to the Indo-European languages, being seen also in L. sto, Gr. (hi)stanai, Skr. stha. Stand is a nasalized form of a stem stad, and is akin to stead. Stall, still, stool, &c., are from the same root, and through the French and Latin come stage, state, station, stable, &c.] 1. To be stationary or at rest in an erect or upright position; to be set in an upright position; as, (a) to rest on the feet in an erect position, as opposed to sitting, lying, or kneeling: said of men or beasts. 'Stands he, sits he? or does he walk? Shak. (b) To be on end; to continue upright; as, a beam stands on end. A field of standing corn.' Drayton.-2. To be as regards position or situation; to occupy a permanent place; to have its site or situation; to hold a place; to be situated or located; as, London stands on the Thames. Where thy nose stands.' Shak. 'Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine (eyes).' Shak. Shak.

Stands Scotland where it did?

3. To cease from progress; not to proceed; to come to a state of rest; to cease moving in any direction; to stop action or movement; to stop; to pause; to halt.

I will tell you who time ambles withal, who time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal. Shak.

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4. To continue or remain without ruin or injury; to hold out against or withstand tendencies to impair, injure, or decay; to be permanent; to last; to endure; to abide. 'While England stands.' Shak. Our peace shall stand as firm.' Shak. 'A living temple, built by faith to stand.' Milton.-5. To maintain one's ground or position; not to fall or fail; to be acquitted or saved. 'Readers by whose judgment I would stand

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