Chapter CDXXIX: Prologue (80)

Note: Starch is a carbohydrate, being the typical amylose, C6H10O5, and is detected by the fine blue color given to it by free iodine. It is not fermentable as such, but is changed by diastase into dextrin and maltose, and by heating with dilute acids into dextrose. Cf. Sugar, Inulin, and Lichenin.

2. Fig.: A stiff, formal manner; formality. Addison. Starch hyacinth (Bot.), the grape hyacinth; -- so called because the flowers have the smell of boiled starch. See under Grape.

STARCH Starch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Starched; p. pr. & vb. n. Starching.]

Defn: To stiffen with starch.

STAR-CHAMBER Star"-cham`ber, n. Etym: [So called (as conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.)

Defn: An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. Encyc. Brit.

STARCHED Starched, a.

1. Stiffened with starch.

2. Stiff; precise; formal. Swift.

STARCHEDNESS Starch"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being starched; stiffness in manners; formality.

STARCHER Starch"er, n.

Defn: One who starches.

STARCHLY Starch"ly, adv.

Defn: In a starched or starch manner.

STARCHNESS Starch"ness, n.

Defn: Of or pertaining to starched or starch; stiffness of manner; preciseness.

STARCHWORT Starch"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The cuckoopint, the tubers of which yield a fine quality of starch.

STARCHY Starch"y, a.

Defn: Consisting of starch; resembling starch; stiff; precise.

STARCRAFT Star"craft, n.

Defn: Astrology. [R.] Tennyson.

STAR-CROSSED Star"-crossed`, a.

Defn: Not favored by the stars; ill-fated. [Poetic] Shak. Such in my star-crossed destiny. Massinger.

STAR DRIFT Star drift. (Astron.)

Defn: Similar and probably related motion of the stars of an asterism, as distinguished from apparent change of place due to solar motion.-- ## = star streaming --

STARE Stare, n. Etym: [AS. stær. See Starling.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The starling. [Obs.]

STARE Stare, v. i. [imp. & p. p. stared; p. pr. & vb. n. staring.] Etym: [AS. starian; akin to LG. & D. staren, OHG. staren, G. starren, Icel. stara; cf. Icel. stira, Dan. stirre, Sw. stirra, and G. starr stiff, rigid, fixed, Gr. stereo-), Skr. sthira firm, strong. *166. Cf. Sterile.]

1. To look with fixed eyes wide open, as through fear, wonder, surprise, impudence, etc.; to fasten an earnest and prolonged gaze on some object. For ever upon the ground I see thee stare. Chaucer. Look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret. Shak.

2. To be very conspicuous on account of size, prominence, color, or brilliancy; as, staring windows or colors.

3. To stand out; to project; to bristle. [Obs.] Makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare. Shak. Take off all the staring straws and jags in the hive. Mortimer.

Syn. -- To gaze; to look earnestly. See Gaze.

STARE Stare, v. t.

Defn: To look earnestly at; to gaze at. I will stare him out of his wits. Shak. To stare in the face, to be before the eyes, or to be undeniably evident. "The law . . . stares them in the face whilst they are breaking it." Locke.

STARE Stare, n.

Defn: The act of staring; a fixed look with eyes wide open. "A dull and stupid stare." Churchill.

STARER Star"er, n.

Defn: One who stares, or gazes.

STARF Starf, obs. imp. of Starve.

Defn: Starved. Chaucer.

STARFINCH Star"finch`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European redstart.

STARFISH Star"fish, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of echinoderms belonging to the class Asterioidea, in which the body is star-shaped and usually has five rays, though the number of rays varies from five to forty or more. The rays are often long, but are sometimes so short as to appear only as angles to the disklike body. Called also sea star, five-finger, and stellerid.

Note: The ophiuroids are also sometimes called starfishes. See Brittle star, and Ophiuroidea.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The dollar fish, or butterfish.

STARGASER Star"gas`er, n.

1. One who gazes at the stars; an astrologer; sometimes, in derision or contempt, an astronomer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of spiny-rayed marine fishes belonging to Uranoscopus, Astroscopus, and allied genera, of the family Uranoscopidæ. The common species of the Eastern United States are Astroscopus anoplus, and A. guttatus. So called from the position of the eyes, which look directly upward.

STARGASING Star"gas`ing, n.

1. The act or practice of observing the stars with attention; contemplation of the stars as connected with astrology or astronomy. Swift.

2. Hence, absent-mindedness; abstraction.

STARINGLY Star"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With a staring look.

STARK Stark, a. [Compar. Starker; superl. Starkest.] Etym: [OE. stark stiff, strong, AS. stearc; akin to OS. starc strong, D. sterk, OHG. starc, starah, G. & Sw. stark, Dan. stærk, Icel. sterkr, Goth. gastaúrknan to become dried up, Lith. strëgti to stiffen, to freeze. Cf. Starch, a. & n.]

1. Stiff; rigid. Chaucer. Whose senses all were straight benumbed and stark. Spenser. His heart gan wax as stark as marble stone. Spenser. Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies. Shak. The north is not so stark and cold. B. Jonson.

2. Complete; absolute; full; perfect; entire. [Obs.] Consider the stark security The common wealth is in now. B. Jonson.

3. Strong; vigorous; powerful. A stark, moss-trooping Scot. Sir W. Scott. Stark beer, boy, stout and strong beer. Beau. & Fl.

4. Severe; violent; fierce. [Obs.] "In starke stours." [i. e., in fierce combats]. Chaucer.

5. Mere; sheer; gross; entire; downright. He pronounces the citation stark nonsense. Collier. Rhetoric is very good or stark naught; there's no medium in rhetoric. Selden.

STARK Stark, adv.

Defn: Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind. Shak. Held him strangled in his arms till he was stark dead. Fuller. Stark naked, wholly naked; quite bare. Strip your sword stark naked. Shak.

Note: According to Professor Skeat, "stark-naked" is derived from steort-naked, or start-naked, literally tail-naked, and hence wholly naked. If this etymology be true the preferable form is stark-naked.

STARK Stark, v. t.

Defn: To stiffen. [R.] If horror have not starked your limbs. H. Taylor.

STARKLY Stark"ly, adv.

Defn: In a stark manner; stiffly; strongly. Its onward force too starky pent In figure, bone, and lineament. Emerson.

STARKNESS Stark"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stark.

STARLESS Star"less, a.

Defn: Being without stars; having no stars visible; as, a starless night. Milton.

STARLIGHT Star"light`, n.

Defn: The light given by the stars. Nor walk by moon, Or glittering starlight, without thee is sweet. Milton.

STARLIGHT Star"light`, a.

Defn: Lighted by the stars, or by the stars only; as, a starlight night. A starlight evening and a morning fair. Dryden.

STARLIKE Star"like`, a.

1. Resembling a star; stellated; radiated like a star; as, starlike flowers.

2. Shining; bright; illustrious. Dryden. The having turned many to righteousness shall confer a starlike and immortal brightness. Boyle.

STARLING Star"ling, n. Etym: [OE. sterlyng, a dim. of OE. stare, AS. stær; akin to AS. stearn, G. star, staar, OHG. stara, Icel. starri, stari, Sw. stare, Dan. stær, L. sturnus. Cf. Stare a starling.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any passerine bird belonging to Sturnus and allied genera. The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss, and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird, and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called also stare, and starred. The pied starling of India is Sternopastor contra.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A California fish; the rock trout.

3. A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge for protection and support; -- called also sterling. Rose-colored starling. (Zoöl.) See Pastor.

STARLIT Star"lit`, a.

Defn: Lighted by the stars; starlight.

STARMONGER Star"mon`ger, n.

Defn: A fortune teller; an astrologer; -- used in contempt. B. Jonson.

STARN Starn, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European starling. [Prov. Eng.]

STARNOSE Star"nose`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A curious American mole (Condylura cristata) having the nose expanded at the end into a stellate disk; -- called also star-nosed mole.

STAROST Star"ost, n. Etym: [Pol. starosta, from stary old.]

Defn: A nobleman who possessed a starosty. [Poland]

STAROSTY Star"os*ty, n.

Defn: A castle and domain conferred on a nobleman for life. [Poland] Brande & C.

STARPROOF Star"proof`, a.

Defn: Impervious to the light of the stars; as, a starproof elm. [Poetic] Milton.

STAR-READ Star"-read`, n.

Defn: Doctrine or knowledge of the stars; star lore; astrology; astronomy. [Obs.] Which in star-read were wont have best insight. Spenser.

STARRED Starred, a. Etym: [From Star.]

1. Adorned or studded with stars; bespangled.

2. Influenced in fortune by the stars. [Obs.] My third comfort, Starred most unluckily. Shak.

STARRINESS Star"ri*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being starry; as, the starriness of the heavens.

STARRY Star"ry, a.

1. Abounding with stars; adorned with stars. "Above the starry sky." Pope.

2. Consisting of, or proceeding from, the stars; stellar; stellary; as, starry light; starry flame. Do not Christians and Heathens, Jews and Gentiles, poets and philosophers, unite in allowing the starry influence Sir W. Scott.

3. Shining like stars; sparkling; as, starry eyes.

4. Arranged in rays like those of a star; stellate. Starry ray (Zoöl.), a European skate (Raita radiata); -- so called from the stellate bases of the dorsal spines.

STARSHINE Star"shine`, n.

Defn: The light of the stars. [R.] The starshine lights upon our heads. R. L. Stevenson.

STARSHOOT Star"shoot`, n.

Defn: See Nostoc.

STAR-SPANGLED Star"-span`gled, a.

Defn: Spangled or studded with stars. Star-spangled banner, the popular name for the national ensign of the United States. F. S. Key.

STAR STEREOGRAM Star stereogram.

Defn: A view of the universe of brighter stars as it would appear to an observer transported into space outside or beyond our universe of stars.

STARSTONE Star"stone`, n. (Min.)

Defn: Asteriated sapphire.

START Start, v. i. [imp. & p. p. started; p. pr. & vb. n. starting.] Etym: [OE. sterten; akin to D. storten 8hurl, rush, fall, G. stürzen, OHG. sturzen to turn over, to fall, Sw. störa to cast down, to fall, Dan. styrte, and probably also to E. start a tail; the original sense being, perhaps, to show the tail, to tumble over suddenly. *166. Cf. Start a tail.]

1. To leap; to jump. [Obs.]

2. To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise, pain, or other sudden feeling or emotion, or by a voluntary act. And maketh him out of his sleep to start. Chaucer. I start as from some dreadful dream. Dryden. Keep your soul to the work when ready to start aside. I. Watts. But if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted heart. Shak.

3. To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to begin; as, to start business. At once they start, advancing in a line. Dryden. At intervals some bird from out the brakes Starts into voice a moment, then is still. Byron.

4. To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a seam may start under strain or pressure. To start after, to set out after; to follow; to pursue. -- To start against, to act as a rival candidate against. -- To start for, to be a candidate for, as an office. -- To start up, to rise suddenly, as from a seat or couch; to come suddenly into notice or importance.

START Start, v. t.

1. To cause to move suddenly; to disturb suddenly; to startle; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee or fly; as, the hounds started a fox. Upon malicious bravery dost thou come To start my quiet Shak. Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar. Shak.

2. To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent. Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start. Sir W. Temple.

3. To cause to move or act; to set going, running, or flowing; as, to start a railway train; to start a mill; to start a stream of water; to start a rumor; to start a business. I was engaged in conversation upon a subject which the people love to start in discourse. Addison.

4. To move suddenly from its place or position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate; as, to start a bone; the storm started the bolts in the vessel. One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternum. Wiseman.

5. Etym: [Perh. from D. storten, which has this meaning also.] (Naut.)

Defn: To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from; as, to start a water cask.

START Start, n.

1. The act of starting; a sudden spring, leap, or motion, caused by surprise, fear, pain, or the like; any sudden motion, or beginning of motion. The fright awakened Arcite with a start. Dryden.

2. A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort. For she did speak in starts distractedly. Shak. Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry. L'Estrange.

3. A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy. To check the starts and sallies of the soul. Addison.

4. The beginning, as of a journey or a course of action; first motion from a place; act of setting out; the outset; -- opposed to finish. The start of first performance is all. Bacon. I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. Shak. At a start, at once; in an instant. [Obs.] At a start he was betwixt them two. Chaucer. To get, or have, the start, to before another; to gain or have the advantage in a similar undertaking; -- usually with of. "Get the start of the majestic world." Shak. "She might have forsaken him if he had not got the start of her." Dryden.

START Start, n. Etym: [OE. stert a tail, AS. steort; akin to LG. stert, steert, D. staart, G. sterz, Icel. stertr, Dan. stiert, Sw. stjert. *166. Cf. Stark naked, under Stark, Start, v. i.]

1. A tail, or anything projecting like a tail.

2. The handle, or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle. [Prov. Eng.]

3. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel bucket.

4. (Mining)

Defn: The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.

STARTER Start"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, starts; as, a starter on a journey; the starter of a race.

2. A dog that rouses game.

STARTFUL Start"ful, a.

Defn: Apt to start; skittish. [R.]

STARTFULNESS Start"ful*ness, n.

Defn: Aptness to start. [R.]

STARTHROAT Star"throat`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any humming bird of the genus Heliomaster. The feathers of the throat have a brilliant metallic luster.

STARTING Start"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Start, v. Starting bar (Steam Eng.), a hand lever for working the values in starting an engine. -- Starting hole, a loophole; evasion. [Obs.] -- Starting point, the point from which motion begins, or from which anything starts. -- Starting post, a post, stake, barrier, or place from which competitors in a race start, or begin the race.

STARTINGLY Start"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: By sudden fits or starts; spasmodically. Shak.

STARTISH Start"ish, a.

Defn: Apt to start; skittish; shy; -- said especially of a horse. [Colloq.]

STARTLE Star"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Startled; p. pr. & vb. n. Startling.] Etym: [Freq. of start.]

Defn: To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start. Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction Addison.

STARTLE Star"tle, v. t.

1. To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise. The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us. Locke.

2. To deter; to cause to deviate. [R.] Clarendon.

Syn. -- To start; shock; fright; frighten; alarm.

STARTLE Star"tle, n.

Defn: A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger. After having recovered from my first startle, I was very well pleased with the accident. Spectator.

STARTLINGLY Star"tling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a startling manner.

STARTLISH Star"tlish, a.

Defn: Easily startled; apt to start; startish; skittish; -- said especially of a hourse. [Colloq.]

START-UP Start"-up`, n.

1. One who comes suddenly into notice; an upstart. [Obs.] Shak.

2. A kind of high rustic shoe. [Obs.] Drayton. A startuppe, or clownish shoe. Spenser.

START-UP Start"-up`, a.

Defn: Upstart. [R.] Walpole.

STARVATION Star*va"tion, n.

Defn: The act of starving, or the state of being starved.

Note: This word was first used, according to Horace Walpole, by Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville, in a speech on American affairs in 1775, which obtained for him the nickname of Starvation Dundas. "Starvation, we are also told, belongs to the class of 'vile compounds' from being a mongrel; as if English were not full of mongrels, and if it would not be in distressing straits without them." Fitzed. Hall.

STARVE Starve, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Starved; p. pr. & vb. n. Starving.] Etym: [OE. sterven to die, AS. steorfan; akin to D. sterven, G. sterben, OHG. sterban, Icel. starf labor, toil.]

1. To die; to perish. [Obs., except in the sense of perishing with cold or hunger.] Lydgate. In hot coals he hath himself raked . . . Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. Chaucer.

2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want; to be very indigent. Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. Pope.

3. To perish or die with cold. Spenser. Have I seen the naked starve for cold Sandys. Starving with cold as well as hunger. W. Irving.

Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used of the United States.

STARVE Starve, v. t.

1. To destroy with cold. [Eng.] From beds of raging fire, to starve in ice Their soft ethereal warmth. Milton.

2. To kill with hunger; as, maliciously to starve a man is, in law, murder.

3. To distress or subdue by famine; as, to starvea garrison into a surrender. Attalus endeavored to starve Italy by stopping their convoy of provisions from Africa. Arbuthnot.

4. To destroy by want of any kind; as, to starve plans by depriving them of proper light and air.

5. To deprive of force or vigor; to disable. The pens of historians, writing thereof, seemed starved for matter in an age so fruitful of memorable actions. Fuller. The powers of their minds are starved by disuse. Locke.

STARVEDLY Starv"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In the condition of one starved or starving; parsimoniously. Some boasting housekeeper which keepth open doors for one day, . . . and lives starvedly all the year after. Bp. Hall.

STARVELING Starve"ling, n. Etym: [Starve + -ling.]

Defn: One who, or that which, pines from lack or food, or nutriment. Old Sir John hangs with me, and thou knowest he is no starveling. Shak.

STARVELING Starve"ling, a.

Defn: Hungry; lean; pining with want.

STARWORT Star"wort`, n. (Bot.) (a) Any plant of the genus Aster. See Aster. (b) A small plant of the genus Stellaria, having star-shaped flowers; star flower; chickweed. Gray. Water starwort, an aquatic plant (Callitriche verna) having some resemblance to chickweed. -- Yellow starwort, a plant of the genus Inula; elecampane.

STASIMON Stas"i*mon, n.; pl. Stasmia. Etym: [NL., from Gr. sta`simon, neut. of sta`simos stationary, steadfast.]

Defn: In the Greek tragedy, a song of the chorus, continued without the interruption of dialogue or anapæstics. Liddell & Scott.

STASIS Sta"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Physiol.)

Defn: A slackening or arrest of the blood current in the vessels, due not to a lessening of the heart's beat, but presumably to some abnormal resistance of the capillary walls. It is one of the phenomena observed in the capillaries in inflammation.

STATABLE Stat"a*ble, a.

Defn: That can be stated; as, a statablegrievance; the question at issue is statable.

STATAL Sta"tal, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or existing with reference to, a State of the American Union, as distinguished from the general government. [R.] I have no knowledge of any other kind of political citizenship, higher or lower, statal or national. Edward Bates.

STATANT Sta"tant, a. Etym: [L. stare to stand.] (Her.)

Defn: In a standing position; as, a lion statant.

STATARIAN Sta*ta"ri*an, a.

Defn: Fixed; settled; steady; statary. [Obs.]

STATARIANLY Sta*ta"ri*an*ly, adv.

Defn: Fixedly; steadly. [Obs.]

STATARY Sta"ta*ry, a. Etym: [L. statarius standing fast, fr. stare to stand.]

Defn: Fixed; settled. [Obs.] "The set and statary times of paring of nails and cutting hair." Sir T. Browne.

STATE State, n. Etym: [OE. stat, OF. estat, F. état, fr. L. status a standing, position, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Estate, Status.]

1. The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time. State is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent. Sir W. Hamilton. Declare the past and present state of things. Dryden. Keep the state of the question in your eye. Boyle.

2. Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor. Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me. Shak.

3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance. She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes. Bacon. Can this imperious lord forget to reign, Quit all his state, descend, and serve again Pope.

4. Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp. Where least og state there most of love is shown. Dryden.

5. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. [Obs.] His high throne, . . . under state Of richest texture spread. Milton. When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl. Swift.

6. Estate, possession. [Obs.] Daniel. Your state, my lord, again in yours. Massinger.

7. A person of high rank. [Obs.] Latimer.

8. Any body of men united by profession, or constituting a community of a particular character; as, the civil and ecclesiastical states, or the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons, in Great Britain. Cf. Estate, n., 6.

9. The principal persons in a government. The bold design Pleased highly those infernal states. Milton.

10. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.

11. A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic. [Obs.] Well monarchies may own religion's name, But states are atheists in their very fame. Dryden.

12. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation. Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state. Blackstone. The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop. R. Choate.

13. In the United States, one of the commonwealth, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stands in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealth, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.

Note: The term State, in its technical sense, is used in distinction from the federal system, i. e., the government of the United States.

14. Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme. [Obs.]

Note: When state is joined with another word, or used adjectively, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic, or to the government; also, what belongs to the States severally in the American Union; as, state affairs; state policy; State laws of Iowa. Nascent state. (Chem.) See under Nascent. -- Secretary of state. See Secretary, n., 3. -- State bargea royal barge, or a barge belonging to a government. -- State bed, an elaborately carved or decorated bed. -- State carriage, a highly decorated carriage for officials going in state, or taking part in public processions. -- State paper, an official paper relating to the interests or government of a state. Jay. -- State prison, a public prison or penitentiary; -- called also State's prison. -- State prisoner, one is confinement, or under arrest, for a political offense. -- State rights, or States' rights, the rights of the several independent States, as distinguished from the rights of the Federal government. It has been a question as to what rights have been vested in the general government. [U.S.] -- State's evidence. See Probator, 2, and under Evidence. -- State sword, a sword used on state occasions, being borne before a sovereign by an attendant of high rank. -- State trial, a trial of a person for a political offense. -- States of the Church. See under Ecclesiastical.

Syn. -- State, Situation, Condition. State is the generic term, and denotes in general the mode in which a thing stands or exists. The situation of a thing is its state in reference to external objects and influences; its condition is its internal state, or what it is in itself considered. Our situation is good or bad as outward things bear favorably or unfavorably upon us; our condition is good or bad according to the state we are actually in as respects our persons, families, property, and other things which comprise our sources of enjoyment. I do not, brother, Infer as if I thought my sister's state Secure without all doubt or controversy. Milton. We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life. Cock. And, O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty starves and blessings curse Cowley.

STATE State, a.

1. Stately. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. Belonging to the state, or body politic; public.

STATE State, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stating.]

1. To set; to settle; to establish. [R.] I myself, though meanest stated, And in court now almost hated. Wither. Who calls the council, states the certain day. Pope.

2. To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc. To state it. To assume state or dignity. [Obs.] "Rarely dressed up, and taught to state it." Beau. & Fl.

STATE State, n.

Defn: A statement; also, a document containing a statement. [R.] Sir W. Scott.

STATECRAFT State"craft`, n.

Defn: The art of conducting state affairs; state management; statesmanship.

STATED Stat"ed, a.

1. Settled; established; fixed. He is capable of corruption who receives more than what is the stated and unquestionable fee of his office. Addison.

2. Recurring at regular time; not occasional; as, stated preaching; stated business hours.

STATEDLY Stat"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: At stated times; regularly.

STATEFUL State"ful, a.

Defn: Full of state; stately. [Obs.] "A stateful silence." Marston.

STATEHOOD State"hood, n.

Defn: The condition of being a State; as, a territory seeking Statehood.

STATEHOUSE State"house`, n.

Defn: The building in which a State legislature holds its sessions; a State capitol. [U. S.]

STATELESS State"less, a.

Defn: Without state or pomp.

STATELILY State"li*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stately manner.

STATELINESS State"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stately. For stateliness and majesty, what is comparable to a horse Dr. H. More.

STATELY State"ly, a. [Compar. Statelier; superl. Stateliest.]

Defn: Evincing state or dignity; lofty; majestic; grand; as, statelymanners; a stately gait. "The stately homes of England!" Mrs. Hemans. "Filled with stately temples." Prescott. Here is a stately style indeed! Shak.

Syn. -- Lofty; dignified; majestic; grand; august; magnificent.

STATELY State"ly, adv.

Defn: Majestically; loftily. Milton.

STATEMENT State"ment, n.

1. The act of stating, reciting, or presenting, orally or in paper; as, to interrupt a speaker in the statement of his case.

2. That which is stated; a formal embodiment in language of facts or opinions; a narrative; a recital. "Admirable perspicuity of statement!" Brougham.

STATEMONGER State"mon`ger, n.

Defn: One versed in politics, or one who dabbles in state affairs.

STATEPRISON State`pris"on.

Defn: See under State, n.

STATER Stat"er, n.

Defn: One who states.

STATER Sta"ter, n. Etym: [L. stater, Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: The principal gold coin of ancient Grece. It varied much in value, the stater best known at Athens being worth about £1 2s., or about $5.35. The Attic silver tetradrachm was in later times called stater.

STATEROOM State"room`, n.

1. A magnificent room in a place or great house.

2. A small apartment for lodging or sleeping in the cabin, or on the deck, of a vessel; also, a somewhat similar apartment in a railway sleeping car.

STATES-GENERAL States"-gen"er*al, n.

1. In France, before the Revolution, the assembly of the three orders of the kingdom, namely, the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate, or commonalty.

2. In the Netherlands, the legislative body, composed of two chambers.

STATESMAN States"man, n.; pl. Statesmen (.

1. A man versed in public affairs and in the principles and art of government; especially, one eminent for political abilities. The minds of some of our statesmen, like the pupil of the human eye, contract themselves the more, the stronger light there is shed upon them. More.

2. One occupied with the affairs of government, and influental in shaping its policy.

3. A small landholder. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

STATESMANLIKE States"man*like`, a.

Defn: Having the manner or wisdom of statesmen; becoming a statesman.

STATESMANLY States"man*ly, a.

Defn: Becoming a statesman.

STATESMANSHIP States"man*ship, n.

Defn: The qualifications, duties, or employments of a statesman.

STATE SOCIALISM State socialism.

Defn: A form of socialism, esp. advocated in Germany, which, while retaining the right of private property and the institution of the family and other features of the present form of the state, would intervene by various measures intended to give or maintain equality of opportunity, as compulsory state insurance, old-age pensions, etc., answering closely to socialism of the chair.

STATESWOMAN States"wom`an, n.; pl. Stateswomen (.

Defn: A woman concerned in public affairs. A rare stateswoman; I admire her bearing. B. Jonson.

STATHMOGRAPH Stath"mo*graph, n. Etym: [Gr. -graph.]

Defn: A contrivance for recording the speed of a railway train. Knight.

STATIC; STATICAL Stat"ic, Stat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. statique. See Stand, and cf. Stage.]

1. Resting; acting by mere weight without motion; as, statical pressure; static objects.

2. Pertaining to bodies at rest or in equilibrium. Statical electricity. See Note under Electricity, 1. -- Statical moment. See under Moment.

STATICALLY Stat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a statical manner.

STATICS Stat"ics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statique, Gr. Static.]

Defn: That branch of mechanics which treats of the equilibrium of forces, or relates to bodies as held at rest by the forces acting on them; -- distinguished from dynamics. Social statics, the study of the conditions which concern the existence and permanence of the social state.

STATING Stat"ing, n.

Defn: The act of one who states anything; statement; as, the statingof one's opinions.

STATION Sta"tion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. statio, from stare, statum, to stand. See Stand.]

1. The act of standing; also, attitude or pose in standing; posture. [R.] A station like the herald, Mercury. Shak. Their manner was to stand at prayer, whereupon their meetings unto that purpose . . . had the names of stations given them. Hooker.

2. A state of standing or rest; equilibrium. [Obs.] All progression is performed by drawing on or impelling forward some part which was before in station, or at quiet. Sir T. Browne.

3. The spot or place where anything stands, especially where a person or thing habitually stands, or is appointed to remain for a time; as, the station of a sentinel. Specifically: (a) A regular stopping place in a stage road or route; a place where railroad trains regularly come to a stand, for the convenience of passengers, taking in fuel, moving freight, etc. (b) The headquarters of the police force of any precinct. (c) The place at which an instrument is planted, or observations are made, as in surveying. (d) (Biol.)

Defn: The particular place, or kind of situation, in which a species naturally occurs; a habitat. (e) (Naut.)

Defn: A place to which ships may resort, and where they may anchor safely. (f) A place or region to which a government ship or fleet is assigned for duty. (g) (Mil.) A place calculated for the rendezvous of troops, or for the distribution of them; also, a spot well adapted for offensive measures. Wilhelm (Mil. Dict.). (h) (Mining) An enlargement in a shaft or galley, used as a landing, or passing place, or for the accomodation of a pump, tank, etc.

4. Post assigned; office; the part or department of public duty which a person is appointed to perform; sphere of duty or occupation; employment. By spending this day [Sunday] in religious exercises, we acquire new strength and resolution to perform God's will in our several stations the week following. R. Nelson.

5. Situation; position; location. The fig and date -- why love they to remain In middle station, and an even plain Prior.

6. State; rank; condition of life; social status. The greater part have kept, I see, Their station. Milton. They in France of the best rank and station. Shak.

7. (Eccl.) (a) The fast of the fourth and sixth days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, in memory of the council which condemned Christ, and of his passion. (b) (R. C. Ch.) A church in which the procession of the clergy halts on stated days to say stated prayers. Addis & Arnold. (c) One of the places at which ecclesiastical processions pause for the performance of an act of devotion; formerly, the tomb of a martyr, or some similarly consecrated spot; now, especially, one of those representations of the successive stages of our Lord's passion which are often placed round the naves of large churches and by the side of the way leading to sacred edifices or shrines, and which are visited in rotation, stated services being performed at each; -- called also Station of the cross. Fairholt. Station bill. (Naut.) Same as Quarter bill, under Quarter. -- Station house. (a) The house serving for the headquarters of the police assigned to a certain district, and as a place of temporary confinement. (b) The house used as a shelter at a railway station. -- Station master, one who has charge of a station, esp. of a railway station. -- Station pointer (Surv.), an instrument for locating on a chart the position of a place from which the angles subtended by three distant objects, whose positions are known, have been observed. -- Station staff (Surv.), an instrument for taking angles in surveying. Craig.

Syn. -- Station, Depot. In the United States, a stopping place on a railway for passengers and freight is commonly called a depot: but to a considerable extent in official use, and in common speech, the more appropriate name, station, has been adopted.

STATION Sta"tion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stationed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stationing.]

Defn: To place; to set; to appoint or assign to the occupation of a post, place, or office; as, to station troops on the right of an army; to station a sentinel on a rampart; to station ships on the coasts of Africa. He gained the brow of the hill, where the English phalanx was stationed. Lyttelton.

STATIONAL Sta"tion*al, a. Etym: [L. stationalis: cf. F. stationnale (église).]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a station. [R.]

STATIONARINESS Sta"tion*a*ri*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stationary; fixity.

STATIONARY Sta"tion*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. stationarius: cf. F. stationnaire. Cf. Stationer.]

1. Not moving; not appearing to move; stable; fixed. Charles Wesley, who is a more stationary man, does not believe the story. Southey.

2. Not improving or getting worse; not growing wiser, greater, better, more excellent, or the contrary.

3. Appearing to be at rest, because moving in the line of vision; not progressive or retrograde, as a planet. Stationary air (Physiol.), the air which under ordinary circumstances does not leave the lungs in respiration. -- Stationary engine. (a) A steam engine thet is permanently placed, in distinction from a portable engine, locomotive, marine engine, etc. Specifically: (b) A factory engine, in distinction from a blowing, pumping, or other kind of engine which is also permanently placed.

STATIONARY Sta"tion*a*ry, n.; pl. -ries (.

Defn: One who, or that which, is stationary, as a planet when apparently it has neither progressive nor retrograde motion. Holland.

STATIONER Sta"tion*er, n. Etym: [Cf. Stationary, a.]

1. A bookseller or publisher; -- formerly so called from his occupying a stand, or station, in the market place or elsewhere. [Obs.] Dryden.

2. One who sells paper, pens, quills, inkstands, pencils, blank books, and other articles used in writing.

STATIONERY Sta"tion*er*y, n.

Defn: The articles usually sold by stationers, as paper, pens, ink, quills, blank books, etc.

STATIONERY Sta"tion*er*y, a.

Defn: Belonging to, or sold by, a stationer.

STATISM Sta"tism, n. Etym: [From State.]

Defn: The art of governing a state; statecraft; policy. [Obs.] The enemies of God . . . call our religion statism. South.

STATIST Sta"tist, n. Etym: [From State.]

1. A statesman; a politician; one skilled in government. [Obs.] Statists indeed, And lovers of their country. Milton.

2. A statistician. Fawcett.

STATISTIC; STATISTICAL Sta*tis"tic, Sta*tis"tic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. statistique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to statistics; as, statistical knowledge, statistical tabulation.

STATISTICALLY Sta*tis"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In the way of statistics.

STATISTICIAN Stat`is*ti"cian, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statisticien.]

Defn: One versed in statistics; one who collects and classifies facts for statistics.

STATISTICS Sta*tis"tics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statistique, G. statistik. See State, n.]

1. The science which has to do with the collection and classification of certain facts respecting the condition of the people in a state.

Note: [In this sense gramatically singular.]

2. pl.

Defn: Classified facts respecting the condition of the people in a state, their health, their longevity, domestic economy, arts, property, and political strength, their resources, the state of the country, etc., or respecting any particular class or interest; especially, those facts which can be stated in numbers, or in tables of numbers, or in any tabular and classified arrangement.

Defn: The branch of mathematics which studies methods for the calculation of probabilities.

STATISTOLOGY Stat`is*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Statistics + -logy.]

Defn: See Statistics, 2.

STATIVE Sta"tive, a. Etym: [L. stativus, fr. stare, statum, to stand.] (Mil.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a fixed camp, or military posts or quarters. [Obs. or R.]

STATOBLAST Stat"o*blast, n. Etym: [Gr. i.e., remaining) + -blast.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a peculiar kind of internal buds, or germs, produced in the interior of certain Bryozoa and sponges, especially in the fresh- water species; -- also called winter buds.

Note: They are protected by a firm covering, and are usually destined to perpetuate the species during the winter season. They burst open and develop in the spring. In some fresh-water sponges they serve to preserve the species during the dry season. See Illust. under Phylactolæmata.

STATOCRACY Sta*toc"ra*cy, n. Etym: [State + -cracy, as in democracy.]

Defn: Government by the state, or by political power, in distinction from government by ecclesiastical power. [R.] O. A. Brownson.

STATOR Sta"tor, n. (Mach.)

Defn: A stationary part in or about which another part (the rotor) revolves, esp. when both are large; as, (a) (Elec.) The stationary member of an electrical machine, as of an induction motor. (b) (Steam Turbine) The case inclosing a turbine wheel; the body of stationary blades or nozzles.

STATUA Stat"u*a, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A statue. [Obs.] They spake not a word; But, like dumb statuas or breathing stones, Gazed each on other. Shak.

STATUARY Stat"u*a*ry, n.; pl. Statuaries. Etym: [L. statuarius, n., fr. statuarius, a., of or belonging to statues, fr. statua statue: cf. F. statuaire. See Statue.]

1. One who practices the art of making statues. On other occasions the statuaries took their subjects from the poets. Addison.

2. Etym: [L. statuaria (sc. ars): cf. F. statuaire.]

Defn: The art of carving statues or images as representatives of real persons or things; a branch of sculpture. Sir W. Temple.

3. A collection of statues; statues, collectively.

STATUE Stat"ue, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. statua (akin to stativus standing still), fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand.]

1. The likeness of a living being sculptured or modeled in some solid substance, as marble, bronze, or wax; an image; as, a statue of Hercules, or of a lion. I will raise her statue in pure gold. Shak.

2. A portrait. [Obs.] Massinger.

STATUE Stat"ue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Statued; p. pr. & vb. n. Statuing.]

Defn: To place, as a statue; to form a statue of; to make into a statue. "The whole man becomes as if statued into stone and earth." Feltham.

STATUED Stat"ued, a.

Defn: Adorned with statues. "The statued hall." Longfellow. "Statued niches." G. Eliot.

STATUELESS Stat"ue*less, a.

Defn: Without a statue.

STATUELIKE Stat"ue*like`, a.

Defn: Like a statue; motionless.

STATUESQUE Stat`u*esque", a.

Defn: Partaking of, or exemplifying, the characteristics of a statue; having the symmetry, or other excellence, of a statue artistically made; as, statuesquelimbs; a statuesque attitude. Their characters are mostly statuesque even in this respect, that they have no background. Hare.

STATUESQUELY Stat`u*esque"ly, adv.

Defn: In a statuesque manner; in a way suggestive of a statue; like a statue. A character statuesquely simple in its details. Lowell.

STATUETTE Stat`u*ette", n. Etym: [F., cf. It. statuetta.]

Defn: A small statue; -- usually applied to a figure much less than life size, especially when of marble or bronze, or of plaster or clay as a preparation for the marble or bronze, as distinguished from a figure in terra cotta or the like. Cf. Figurine.

STATUMINATE Sta*tu"mi*nate, v. t. Etym: [L. statuminatus, p.p. of statuminare to prop, fr. statumen a prop, fr. statuere to place.]

Defn: To prop or support. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

STATURE Stat"ure, n. Etym: [F. stature, OF. estature, from L. statura, originally, an upright posture, hence, height or size of the body, from stare, statum, to stand. See Stand.]

Defn: The natural height of an animal body; -- generally used of the human body. Foreign men of mighty stature came. Dryden.

STATURED Stat"ured, a.

Defn: Arrived at full stature. [R.]

STATUS Sta"tus, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: State; condition; position of affairs.

STATUS IN QUO; STATUS QUO Sta"tus in` quo", Sta"tus quo". Etym: [L., state in which.]

Defn: The state in which anything is already. The phrase is also used retrospectively, as when, on a treaty of place, matters return to the status quo ante bellum, or are left in statu quo ante bellum, i.e., the state (or, in the state) before the war.

STATUTABLE Stat"u*ta*ble, a.

1. Made or introduced by statute; proceeding from an act of the legistature; as, a statutable provision or remedy.

2. Made or being in conformity to statute; standard; as, statutable measures.

STATUTABLY Stat"u*ta*bly, adv.

Defn: Conformably to statute.

STATUTE Stat"ute, n. Etym: [F. statut, LL. statutum, from L. statutus, p.p. of statuere to set, station, ordain, fr. status position, station, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Constitute, Destitute.]

1. An act of the legislature of a state or country, declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something; a positive law; the written will of the legislature expressed with all the requisite forms of legislation; -- used in distinction fraom common law. See Common law, under Common, a. Bouvier.

Note: Statute is commonly applied to the acts of a legislative body consisting of representatives. In monarchies, legislature laws of the sovereign are called edicts, decrees, ordinances, rescripts, etc. In works on international law and in the Roman law, the term is used as embracing all laws imposed by competent authority. Statutes in this sense are divided into statutes real, statutes personal, and statutes mixed; statutes real applying to immovables; statutes personal to movables; and statutes mixed to both classes of property.

2. An act of a corporation or of its founder, intended as a permanent rule or law; as, the statutes of a university.

3. An assemblage of farming servants (held possibly by statute) for the purpose of being hired; -- called also statute fair. [Eng.] Cf. 3d Mop, 2. Halliwell. Statute book, a record of laws or legislative acts. Blackstone. -- Statute cap, a kind of woolen cap; -- so called because enjoined to be worn by a statute, dated in 1571, in behalf of the trade of cappers. [Obs.] Halliwell. -- Statute fair. See Statute, n., 3, above. -- Statute labor, a definite amount of labor required for the public service in making roads, bridges, etc., as in certain English colonies. -- Statute merchant (Eng. Law), a bond of record pursuant to the stat. 13 Edw. I., acknowledged in form prescribed, on which, if not paid at the day, an execution might be awarded against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, and the obligee might hold the lands until out of the rents and profits of them the debt was satisfied; -- called also a pocket judgment. It is now fallen into disuse. Tomlins. Bouvier. -- Statute mile. See under Mile. -- Statute of limitations (Law), a statute assigned a certain time, after which rights can not be enforced by action. -- Statute staple, a bond of record acknowledged before the mayor of the staple, by virtue of which the creditor may, on nonpayment, forthwith have execution against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, as in the statute merchant. It is now disused. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Act; regulation; edict; decree. See Law.

STATUTORY Stat"u*to*ry, a.

Defn: Enacted by statute; depending on statute for its authority; as, a statutory provision.

STAUNCH; STAUNCHLY; STAUNCHNESS Staunch, Staunch"ly, Staunch"ness, etc.

Defn: See Stanch, Stanchly, etc.

STAUROLITE Stau"ro*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a brown to black color occurring in prismatic crystals, often twinned so as to form groups resembling a cross. It is a silicate of aluminia and iron, and is generally found imbedded in mica schist. Called also granatite, and grenatite.

STAUROLITIC Stau`ro*lit"ic, a. (Min.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to staurolite; resembling or containing staurolite.

STAUROSCOPE Stau"ro*scope, n. Etym: [Gr. -scope.] (Crystallog.)

Defn: An optical instrument used in determining the position of the planes of light-vibration in sections of crystals.

STAUROTIDE Stau"ro*tide, n. Etym: [F. staurotide, from Gr. (Min.)

Defn: Staurolite.

STAVE Stave, n. Etym: [From Staff, and corresponding to the pl. staves. See Staff.]

1. One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; esp., one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, a pail, etc.

2. One of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel; one of the bars or rounds of a rack, a ladder, etc.

3. A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff. Let us chant a passing stave In honor of that hero brave. Wordsworth.

4. (Mus.)

Defn: The five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff. [Obs.] Stave jointer, a machine for dressing the edges of staves.

STAVE Stave, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staved or Stove (; p. pr. & vb. n. Staving.] Etym: [From Stave, n., or Staff, n.]

1. To break in a stave or the staves of; to break a hole in; to burst; -- often with in; as, to stave a cask; to stave in a boat.

2. To push, as with a staff; -- with off. The condition of a servant staves him off to a distance. South.

3. To delay by force or craft; to drive away; -- usually with off; as, to stave off the execution of a project. And answered with such craft as women use, Guilty or guilties, to stave off a chance That breaks upon them perilously. Tennyson.

4. To suffer, or cause, to be lost by breaking the cask. All the wine in the city has been staved. Sandys.

5. To furnish with staves or rundles. Knolles.

6. To render impervious or solid by driving with a calking iron; as, to stave lead, or the joints of pipes into which lead has been run. To stave and tail, in bear baiting, (to stave) to interpose with the staff, doubtless to stop the bear; (to tail) to hold back the dog by the tail. Nares.

STAVE Stave, v. i.

Defn: To burst in pieces by striking against something; to dash into fragments. Like a vessel of glass she stove and sank. Longfellow.

STAVES Staves, n.;

Defn: pl. of Staff. "Banners, scarves and staves." R. Browning. Also (stavz),

Defn: pl. of Stave.

STAVESACRE Staves"a`cre, n. Etym: [Corrupted from NL. staphis agria, Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of larkspur (Delphinium Staphysagria), and its seeds, which are violently purgative and emetic. They are used as a parasiticide, and in the East for poisoning fish.

STAVEWOOD Stave`wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tall tree (Simaruba amara) growing in tropical America. It is one of the trees which yields quassia.

STAVING Stav"ing, n.

Defn: A cassing or lining of staves; especially, one encircling a water wheel.

STAW Staw, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Dan. staae to stand, Sw. stå. *163.]

Defn: To be fixed or set; to stay. [Prov. Eng.]

STAY Stay, n. Etym: [AS. stæg, akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., & Dan. stag; cf. OF. estai, F. étai, of Teutonic origin.] (Naut.)

Defn: A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel's side are called backstays. See Illust. of Ship. In stays, or Hove in stays (Naut.), in the act or situation of staying, or going about from one tack to another. R. H. Dana, Jr. -- Stay holes (Naut.), openings in the edge of a staysail through which the hanks pass which join it to the stay. -- Stay tackle (Naut.), a tackle attached to a stay and used for hoisting or lowering heavy articles over the side. -- To miss stays (Naut.), to fail in the attempt to go about. Totten. -- Triatic stay (Naut.), a rope secured at the ends to the heads of the foremast and mainmast with thimbles spliced to its bight into which the stay tackles hook.

STAY Stay, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stayed or Staid (; p. pr. & vb. n. Staying.] Etym: [OF. estayer, F. étayer to prop, fr. OF. estai, F. étai, a prop, probably fr. OD. stade, staeye, a prop, akin to E. stead; or cf. stay a rope to support a mast. Cf. Staid, a., Stay, v. i.]

1. To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to fix firmly; to hold up; to support. Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. Ex. xvii. 12. Sallows and reeds . . . for vineyards useful found To stay thy vines. Dryden.

2. To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not staid his stomach for a minute. Sir W. Scott.

3. To bear up under; to endure; to support; to resist successfully. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes. Shak.

4. To hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain; to stop; to hold. Him backward overthrew and down him stayed With their rude hands grisly grapplement. Spenser. All that may stay their minds from thinking that true which they heartly wish were false. Hooker.

5. To hinde Your ships are stayed at Venice. Shak. This business staid me in London almost a week. Evelyn. I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me new. Locke.

6. To remain for the purpose of; to wait for. "I stay dinner there." Shak.

7. To cause to cease; to put an end to. Stay your strife. Shak. For flattering planets seemed to say This child should ills of ages stay. Emerson.

8. (Engin.)

Defn: To fasten or secure with stays; as, to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler.

9. (Naut.)

Defn: To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind. To stay a mast (Naut.), to incline it forward or aft, or to one side, by the stays and backstays.

STAY Stay, v. i. Etym: [*163. See Stay to hold up, prop.]

1. To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still. She would command the hasty sun to stay. Spenser. Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first. Dryden. I stay a little longer, as one stays To cover up the embers that still burn. Longfellow.

2. To continue in a state. The flames augment, and stay At their full height, then languish to decay. Dryden.