- stay
-
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English stæg; akin to Old Norse stag stay
Date: before 12th century
1. a large strong rope usually of wire used to support a mast
2. guy I
II. verb
Date: 1627
transitive verb
1. to secure upright with or as if with stays
2. to incline (a mast) forward, aft, or to one side by the stays
intransitive verb
to go about ; tack
III. verb
(stayed; also staid; staying)
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estei-, estai-, stem of ester to stand, stay, from Latin stare — more at stand
Date: 15th century
intransitive verb
1. to stop going forward ; pause
2. to stop doing something ; cease
3. to continue in a place or condition ; remain <stayed up all night> <went for a short vacation but stayed on for weeks> <stay put till I come back> 4. to stand firm 5. to take up residence ; lodge 6. to keep even in a contest or rivalry <stay with the leaders> 7. to call a poker bet without raising 8. obsolete to be in waiting or attendance transitive verb 1. to wait for ; await 2. to stick or remain with (as a race or trial of endurance) to the end — usually used in the phrase stay the course 3. to remain during <stayed the whole time> 4. a. to stop or delay the proceeding or advance of by or as if by interposing an obstacle ; halt <stay an execution> b. to check the course of (as a disease) c. allay, pacify <stayed tempers> d. to quiet the hunger of temporarily Synonyms: see defer IV. noun Date: 1536 1. a. the action of halting ; the state of being stopped b. a stopping or suspension of procedure or execution by judicial or executive order 2. obsolete self-control, moderation 3. a residence or sojourn in a place 4. capacity for endurance V. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French estaie, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch stake pole, Middle Low German stak post, stake pole — more at stake Date: 14th century 1. one that serves as a prop ; support 2. a thin firm strip (as of plastic) used for stiffening a garment or part (as a shirt collar) 3. a corset stiffened with bones — usually used in plural VI. transitive verb Date: 1548 1. to provide physical or moral support for ; sustain 2. to fix on something as a foundation
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
