Chapter CDXXXII: Prologue (83)

(b) One who pertinaciously contends for some trifling things, as a point of etiquette; an unreasonable, obstinate contender; as, a stickler for ceremony. The Tory or High-church were the greatest sticklers against the exorbitant proceedings of King James II. Swift.

STICK-SEED Stick"-seed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Echinospermum Lappula) of the Borage family, with small blue flowers and prickly nutlets.

STICKTAIL Stick"tail`, n.

Defn: The ruddy duck. [Local, U.S.]

STICK-TIGHT Stick"-tight`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Beggar's ticks.

STICKY Stick"y, a. [Compar. Stickier; superl. Stickiest.]

Defn: Having the quality of sticking to a surface; adhesive; gluey; viscous; viscid; glutinous; tenacious. Herbs which last longest are those of strong smell, and with a sticky stalk. Bacon.

STIDDY Stid"dy, n. Etym: [See Stithy.]

Defn: An anvil; also, a smith shop. See Stithy. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

STIFF Stiff, a. [Compar. Stiffer; superl. Stiffest.] Etym: [OE. stif, AS. stif; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. stifr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. Costive, Stifle, Stipulate, Stive to stuff.]

1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints. [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aërial sky. Milton.

2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.

3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.

4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary. It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument. Jer. Taylor. A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws. Dryden.

5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style. The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Addison.

6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] "This is stiff news." Shak.

7. (Naut.)

Defn: Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank. Totten.

8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang] Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.

Syn. -- Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.

STIFF-BACKED Stiff"-backed`, a.

Defn: Obstinate. J. H. Newman.

STIFFEN Stiff"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened; p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] Etym: [See Stiff.]

1. tiono make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch. Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. Shak.

2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.

3. To make torpid; to benumb.

STIFFEN Stiff"en, v. i.

Defn: To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective. Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. Dryden. The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. Dryden. Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. Dryden.

STIFFENER Stiff"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stiffens anything, as a piece of stiff cloth in a cravat.

STIFFENING Stiff"en*ing, n.

1. Act or process of making stiff.

2. Something used to make anything stiff. Stiffening order (Com.), a permission granted by the customs department to take cargo or ballast on board before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship.

STIFF-HEARTED Stiff"-heart`ed, a. Etym: [Stiff + heart.]

Defn: Obstinate; stubborn; contumacious. Ezek. ii. 4.

STIFFISH Stiff"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat stiff.

STIFFLY Stiff"ly, adv.

Defn: In a stiff manner.

STIFF-NECKED Stiff"-necked`, a.

Defn: Stubborn; inflexibly obstinate; contumacious; as, stiff-necked pride; a stiff-necked people. Ex. xxxii. 9.

STIFF-NECKEDNESS Stiff"-neck`ed*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stiff-necked; stubbornness.

STIFFNESS Stiff"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stiff; as, the stiffness of cloth or of paste; stiffness of manner; stiffness of character. The vices of old age have the stiffness of it too. South.

STIFFTAIL Stiff"tail`, n.

Defn: The ruddy duck. [Local, U.S.]

STIFF-TAILED Stiff"-tailed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the quill feathers of the tail somewhat rigid.

STIFLE Sti"fle, n. Etym: [From Stiff.] (Far.)

Defn: The joint next above the hock, and near the flank, in the hind leg of the horse and allied animals; the joint corresponding to the knee in man; -- called also stifle joint. See Illust. under Horse. Stifle bone, a small bone at the stifle joint; the patella, or kneepan.

STIFLE Sti"fle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stifled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stifling.] Etym: [Freq. of OE. stif stiff; cf. Icel. stifla to dam up.]

1. To stop the breath of by crowding something into the windpipe, or introducing an irrespirable substance into the lungs; to choke; to suffocate; to cause the death of by such means; as, to stifle one with smoke or dust. Stifled with kisses, a sweet death he dies. Dryden. I took my leave, being half stifled with the closeness of the room. Swift.

2. To stop; to extinguish; to deaden; to quench; as, to stifle the breath; to stifle a fire or flame. Bodies . . . stifle in themselves the rays which they do not reflect or transmit. Sir I. Newton.

3. To suppress the manifestation or report of; to smother; to conceal from public knowledge; as, to stifle a story; to stifle passion. I desire only to have things fairly represented as they really are; no evidence smothered or stifled. Waterland.

STIFLE Sti"fle, v. i.

Defn: To die by reason of obstruction of the breath, or because some noxious substance prevents respiration. You shall stifle in your own report. Shak.

STIFLED Sti"fled, a.

Defn: Stifling. The close and stifled study. Hawthorne.

STIFLER Sti"fler, n.

1. One who, or that which, stifles.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: See Camouflet.

STIGMA Stig"ma, n.; pl. E. Stigmas, L. Stigmata. Etym: [L., a mark, a brand, from Gr. Stick, v. t.]

1. A mark made with a burning iron; a brand.

2. Any mark of infamy or disgrace; sign of moral blemish; stain or reproach caused by dishonorable conduct; reproachful characterization. The blackest stigma that can be fastened upon him. Bp. Hall. All such slaughters were from thence called Bartelmies, simply in a perpetual stigma of that butchery. Sir G. Buck.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: That part of a pistil which has no epidermis, and is fitted to receive the pollen. It is usually the terminal portion, and is commonly somewhat glutinous or viscid. See Illust. of Stamen and of Flower.

4. (Anat.)

Defn: A small spot, mark, scar, or a minute hole; -- applied especially to a spot on the outer surface of a Graafian follicle, and to spots of intercellular substance in scaly epithelium, or to minute holes in such spots.

5. (Pathol.)

Defn: A red speck upon the skin, produced either by the extravasation of blood, as in the bloody sweat characteristic of certain varieties of religious ecstasy, or by capillary congestion, as in the case of drunkards.

6. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the external openings of the tracheæ of insects, myriapods, and other arthropods; a spiracle. (b) One of the apertures of the pulmonary sacs of arachnids. See Illust. of Scorpion. (c) One of the apertures of the gill of an ascidian, and of Amphioxus.

7. (Geom.)

Defn: A point so connected by any law whatever with another point, called an index, that as the index moves in any manner in a plane the first point or stigma moves in a determinate way in the same plane.

8. pl. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: Marks believed to have been supernaturally impressed upon the bodies of certain persons in imitation of the wounds on the crucified body of Christ. See def. 5, above.

STIGMARIA Stig*ma"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL. See Stigma.] (Paleon.)

Defn: The fossil root stem of a coal plant of the genus Sigillaria.

STIGMATA Stig"ma*ta, n.;

Defn: pl. of Stigma.

STIGMATIC Stig*mat"ic, n.

1. A notorious profligate or criminal who has been branded; one who bears the marks of infamy or punishment. [R.] Bullokar.

2. A person who is marked or deformed by nature. Shak.

STIGMATIC; STIGMATICAL Stig*mat"ic, Stig*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [See Stigma.]

1. Marked with a stigma, or with something reproachful to character.

2. Impressing with infamy or reproach. [R.]

3. (Bot., Anat., etc)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a stigma or stigmata. Stigmatic geometry, or Stigmatics, that science in which the correspondence of index and stigma (see Stigma, 7) is made use of to establish geometrical proportions.

STIGMATICALLY Stig*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: With a stigma, or mark of infamy or deformity.

STIGMATIST Stig"ma*tist, n.

Defn: One believed to be supernaturally impressed with the marks of Christ's wounds. See Stigma, 8.

STIGMATIZATION Stig`ma*ti*za"tion, n.

1. The act of stigmatizing.

2. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: The production of stigmata upon the body. See Stigma, 8.

STIGMATIZE Stig"ma*tize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stigmatized; p. pr. & vb. n. Stigmatizing.] Etym: [F. stigmatiser, Gr.

1. To mark with a stigma, or brand; as, the ancients stigmatized their slaves and soldiers. That . . . hold out both their ears with such delight and ravishment, to be stigmatized and bored through in witness of their own voluntary and beloved baseness. Milton.

2. To set a mark of disgrace on; to brand with some mark of reproach or infamy. To find virtue extolled and vice stigmatized. Addison.

STIGMATOSE Stig"ma*tose`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Stigmatic.

STIGONOMANCY Stig"o*no*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by writing on the bark of a tree.

STIKE Stike, n. Etym: [See Stich.]

Defn: Stanza. [Obs.] Sackville.

STILAR Sti"lar, a. Etym: [From Stile a style.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the style of a dial. [Written also stylar.]

STILBENE Stil"bene, n. Etym: [See Stilbite.] (Chem.)

Defn: A hydrocarbon, C14H12, produced artificially in large, fine crystals; -- called also diphenyl ethylene, toluylene, etc.

STILBITE Stil"bite, n. Etym: [Gr. stilbite.] (Min.)

Defn: A common mineral of the zeolite family, a hydrous silicate of alumina and lime, usually occurring in sheaflike aggregations of crystals, also in radiated masses. It is of a white or yellowish color, with pearly luster on the cleavage surface. Called also desmine.

STILE Stile, n. Etym: [See Style.]

1. A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon.

2. Mode of composition. See Style. [Obs.] May I not write in such a stile as this Bunyan.

STILE Stile, n. Etym: [OE. stile, AS. stigel a step, a ladder, from stigan to ascend; akin to OHG. stigila a stile. *164. See Sty, v. i., and cf. Stair.]

1. A step, or set of steps, for ascending and descending, in passing a fence or wall. There comes my master . . . over the stile, this way. Shak. Over this stile in the way to Doubting Castle. Bunyan.

2. (Arch.)

Defn: One of the upright pieces in a frame; one of the primary members of a frame, into which the secondary members are mortised.

Note: In an ordinary door the principal upright pieces are called stiles, the subordinate upright pieces mullions, and the crosspieces rails. In wainscoting the principal pieces are sometimes called stiles, even when horizontal. Hanging stile, Pulley stile. See under Hanging, and Pulley.

STILET Sti"let, n. Etym: [Written also stilette, and stylet.]

1. A stiletto. [R.]

2. (Surg.)

Defn: See Stylet, 2.

STILETTO Sti*let"to, n.; pl. Stilettos. Etym: [It., dim. of stilo a dagger, fr. L. stilus a pointed instrument. See Style for writing, and cf. Stylet.]

1. A kind of dagger with a slender, rounded, and pointed blade.

2. A pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in embroidery.

3. A beard trimmed into a pointed form. [Obs.] The very quack of fashions, the very he that Wears a stiletto on his chin. Ford.

STILETTO Sti*let"to, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stilettoed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stilettoing.]

Defn: To stab or kill with a stiletto. Bacon.

STILL Still, a. [Compar. Stiller; superl. Stillest.] Etym: [OE. stille, AS. stille; akin to D. stil, OS. & OHG. stilli, G. still, Dan. stille, Sw. stilla, and to E. stall; from the idea of coming to a stand, or halt. Cf. Still, adv.]

1. Motionless; at rest; quiet; as, to stand still; to lie or sit still. "Still as any stone." Chaucer.

2. Uttering no sound; silent; as, the audience is still; the animals are still. The sea that roared at thy command, At thy command was still. Addison.

3. Not disturbed by noise or agitation; quiet; calm; as, a still evening; a still atmosphere. "When all the woods are still." Milton.

4. Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low. "A still small voice." 1 Kings xix. 12.

5. Constant; continual. [Obs.] By still practice learn to know thy meaning. Shak.

6. Not effervescing; not sparkling; as, still wines. Still life. (Fine Arts) (a) Inanimate objects. (b) (Painting) The class or style of painting which represents inanimate objects, as fruit, flowers, dead game, etc.

Syn. -- Quiet; calm; noiseless; serene; motionless; inert; stagnant.

STILL Still, n. Etym: [Cf. G. stille.]

1. Freedom from noise; calm; silence; as, the still of midnight. [Poetic]

2. A steep hill or ascent. [Obs.] W. Browne.

STILL Still, adv. Etym: [AS. stille quietly. See Still, a. The modern senses come from the idea of stopping and staying still, or motionless.]

1. To this time; until and during the time now present; now no less than before; yet. It hath been anciently reported, and is still received. Bacon.

2. In the future as now and before. Hourly joys be still upon you! Shak.

3. In continuation by successive or repeated acts; always; ever; constantly; uniformly. The desire of fame betrays an ambitious man into indecencies that lessen his reputation; he is still afraid lest any of his actions should be thrown away in private. Addison. Chemists would be rich if they could still do in great quantities what they have sometimes done in little. Boyle.

4. In an increasing or additional degree; even more; -- much used with comparatives. The guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed. Shak.

5. Notwithstanding what has been said or done; in spite of what has occured; nevertheless; -- sometimes used as a conjunction. See Synonym of But. As sunshine, broken in the rill, Though turned astray, is sunshine still. Moore.

6. After that; after what is stated. In the primitive church, such as by fear being compelled to sacrifice to strange gods, after repented, and kept still the office of preaching the gospel. Whitgift. Still and anon, at intervals and repeatedly; continually; ever and anon; now and then. And like the watchful minutes to the hour, Still and anon cheered up the heavy time. Shak.

STILL Still, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stilling.] Etym: [AS. stillan, from stille still, quiet, firm. See Still, a.]

1. To stop, as motion or agitation; to cause to become quiet, or comparatively quiet; to check the agitation of; as, to still the raging sea. He having a full sway over the water, had power to still and compose it, as well as to move and disturb it. Woodward.

2. To stop, as noise; to silence. With his name the mothers still their babies. Shak.

3. To appease; to calm; to quiet, as tumult, agitation, or excitement; as, to still the passions. Shak. Toil that would, at least, have stilled an unquiet impulse in me. Hawthorne.

Syn. -- To quiet; calm; allay; lull; pacify; appease; subdue; suppress; silence; stop; check; restrain.

STILL Still, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. stillatorie. See Still, v., to distill.]

1. A vessel, boiler, or copper used in the distillation of liquids; specifically, one used for the distillation of alcoholic liquors; a retort. The name is sometimes applied to the whole apparatus used in in vaporization and condensation.

2. A house where liquors are distilled; a distillery. Still watcher, a device for indicating the progress of distillation by the density of the liquid given over. Knight.

STILL Still, v. t. Etym: [Abbreviated fr. distill.]

1. To cause to fall by drops.

2. To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill. Tusser.

STILL Still, v. i. Etym: [L. stillare. Cf. Distill.]

Defn: To drop, or flow in drops; to distill. [Obs.] Spenser.

STILLAGE Stil"lage, n. (Bleaching)

Defn: A low stool to keep the goods from touching the floor. Knight.

STILLATITIOUS Stil`la*ti"tious, a. Etym: [L. stillaticius, fr. stillare to drop, stilla a drop.]

Defn: Falling in drops; drawn by a still.

STILLATORY Stil"la*to*ry, n.; pl. -ries. Etym: [From Still, for distill. Cf. Still, n., and Distillatory, a.]

1. An alembic; a vessel for distillation. [R.] Bacon.

2. A laboratory; a place or room in which distillation is performed. [R.] Dr. H. More. Sir H. Wotton.

STILLBIRTH Still"birth`, n.

Defn: The birth of a dead fetus.

STILLBORN Still"born`, a.

1. Dead at the birth; as, a stillborn child.

2. Fig.: Abortive; as, a stillborn poem. Swift.

STILL-BURN Still"-burn`, v. t. Etym: [imp. & p. p. still-burnt or Still-burned (; p. pr. & vb. n. Still-burning.]

Defn: To burn in the process of distillation; as, to still-burn brandy.

STILL-CLOSING Still"-clos"ing, a.

Defn: Ever closing. [Obs.] "Still-clothing waters." Shak.

STILLER Still"er, n.

Defn: One who stills, or quiets.

STILLHOUSE Still"house`, n.

Defn: A house in which distillation is carried on; a distillery.

STILL-HUNT Still"-hunt`, n.

Defn: A hunting for game in a quiet and cautious manner, or under cover; stalking; hence, colloquially, the pursuit of any object quietly and cautiously. -- Still"-hunt`er, n. -- Still"-hunt`ing, n. [U.S.]

STILLICIDE Stil"li*cide, n. Etym: [L. stillicidium; stilla a drop + cadere to fall.]

Defn: A continual falling or succession of drops; rain water falling from the eaves. Bacon.

STILLICIDIOUS Stil`li*cid"i*ous, a.

Defn: Falling in drops. [Obs.]

STILLIFORM Stil"li*form, a. Etym: [L. stilla a drop + -form.]

Defn: Having the form of a drop. Owen.

STILLING Still"ing, n. Etym: [Cf. LG. stelling, G. stellen to set, to place.]

Defn: A stillion. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

STILLION Stil"lion, n. Etym: [See Stilling.]

Defn: A stand, as for casks or vats in a brewery, or for pottery while drying.

STILLNESS Still"ness, n.

1. The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity. Painting, then, was the art demanded by the modern intellect upon its emergence from the stillness of the Middle Ages. J. A. Symonds.

2. Habitual silence or quiet; taciturnity. The gravity and stillness of your youth The world hath noted. Shak.

STILLROOM Still"room`, n.

1. A room for distilling.

2. An apartment in a house where liquors, preserves, and the like, are kept. [Eng.] Floors are rubbed bright, . . . stillroom and kitchen cleared for action. Dickens.

STILLSON WRENCH Still"son wrench.

Defn: A pipe wrench having an adjustable L-shaped jaw piece sliding in a sleeve that is pivoted to, and loosely embraces, the handle. Pressure on the handle increases the grip.

STILLSTAND Still"stand`, n.

Defn: A standstill. [R.] Shak.

STILLY Still"y, a.

Defn: Still; quiet; calm. The stilly hour when storms are gone. Moore.

STILLY Stil"ly, adv.

Defn: In a still manner; quietly; silently; softly. Dr. H. More. The hum of either army stilly sounds. Shak.

STILPNOMELANE Stilp*nom"e*lane, n. Etym: [Gr. stilpno`s shining + me`las, -anos, black.] (Min.)

Defn: A black or greenish black mineral occurring in foliated flates, also in velvety bronze-colored incrustations. It is a hydrous silicate of iron and alumina.

STILT Stilt, n. Etym: [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.]

1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is sometimes lashed to the leg, and sometimes prolonged upward so as to be steadied by the hand or arm. Ambition is but avarice on stilts, and masked. Landor.

2. A crutch; also, the handle of a plow. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of limicoline birds belonging to Himantopus and allied genera, in which the legs are remarkably long and slender. Called also longshanks, stiltbird, stilt plover, and lawyer.

Note: The American species (Himantopus Mexicanus) is well known. The European and Asiatic stilt (H. candidus) is usually white, except the wings and interscapulars, which are greenish black. The white-headed stilt (H. leucocephalus) and the banded stilt (Cladorhynchus pectoralis) are found in Australia. Stilt plover (Zoöl.), the stilt. -- Stilt sandpiper (Zoöl.), an American sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus) having long legs. The bill is somewhat expanded at the tip.

STILT Stilt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stilted; p. pr. & vb. n. Stilting.]

Defn: To raise on stilts, or as if on stilts.

STILTBIRD Stilt"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Stilt, n., 3.

STILTED Stilt"ed, a.

Defn: Elevated as if on stilts; hence, pompous; bombastic; as, a stilted style; stilted declamation. Stilted arch (Arch.), an arch in which the springing line is some distance above the impost, the space between being occupied by a vertical member, molded or ornamented, as a continuation of the archivolt, intrados, etc.

STILTIFY Stilt"i*fy, v. t. Etym: [Stilt + -fy.]

Defn: To raise upon stilts, or as upon stilts; to stilt.

STILTON CHEESE; STILTON Stil"ton cheese", or Stil"ton, n.

Defn: A peculiarly flavored unpressed cheese made from milk with cream added; -- so called from the village or parish of Stilton, England, where it was originally made. It is very rich in fat.

Thus, in the outset he was gastronomic; discussed the dinner from the soup to the stilton. C. Lever.

STILTY Stilt"y, a.

Defn: Unreasonably elevated; pompous; stilted; as, a stilty style.

STIME Stime, n. Etym: [Etymology uncertain.]

Defn: A slight gleam or glimmer; a glimpse. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

STIMEY; STIMIE Sti"mey, Sti"mie, n. & v. t.

Defn: See Stymie.

STIMULANT Stim"u*lant, a. Etym: [L. stimulans, p.pr.; cf. F. stimulant. See Stimulate.]

1. Serving to stimulate.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: Produced increased vital action in the organism, or in any of its parts.

STIMULANT Stim"u*lant, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stimulant.]

1. That which stimulates, provokes, or excites. His feelings had been exasperated by the constant application of stimulants. Macaulay.

2. (Physiol. & Med.)

Defn: An agent which produces a temporary increase of vital activity in the organism, or in any of its parts; -- sometimes used without qualification to signify an alcoholic beverage used as a stimulant.

STIMULATE Stim"u*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stimulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stimulating.] Etym: [L. stimulatus, p.p. of stimulare to prick or goad on, to incite, fr. stimulus a goad. See Stimulus.]

1. To excite as if with a goad; to excite, rouse, or animate, to action or more vigorous exertion by some pungent motive or by persuasion; as, to stimulate one by the hope of reward, or by the prospect of glory. To excite and stimulate us thereunto. Dr. J. Scott.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: To excite; to irritate; especially, to excite the activity of (a nerve or an irritable muscle), as by electricity.

Syn. -- To animate; incite; encourage; impel; urge; instigate; irritate; exasperate; incense.

STIMULATION Stim`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. stimulatio: cf. F. stimulation.]

1. The act of stimulating, or the state of being stimulated.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The irritating action of various agents (stimuli) on muscles, nerves, or a sensory end organ, by which activity is evoked; especially, the nervous impulse produced by various agents on nerves, or a sensory end organ, by which the part connected with the nerve is thrown into a state of activity; irritation.

STIMULATIVE Stim"u*la*tive, a.

Defn: Having the quality of stimulating. -- n.

Defn: That which stimulates.

STIMULATOR Stim"u*la`tor, n. Etym: [L.: cf. F. stimulateur.]

Defn: One who stimulates.

STIMULATRESS Stim"u*la`tress, n.

Defn: A woman who stimulates.

STIMULISM Stim"u*lism, n. (Med.) (a) The theory of medical practice which regarded life as dependent upon stimulation, or excitation, and disease as caused by excess or deficiency in the amount of stimulation. (b) The practice of treating disease by alcoholic stimulants. Dr. H. Hartshorne.

STIMULUS Stim"u*lus, n.; pl. Stimuli. Etym: [L., for stigmulus, akin to L. instigare to stimulate. See Instigare, Stick, v. t.]

1. A goad; hence, something that rouses the mind or spirits; an incentive; as, the hope of gain is a powerful stimulus to labor and action.

2. That which excites or produces a temporary increase of vital action, either in the whole organism or in any of its parts; especially (Physiol.), any substance or agent capable of evoking the activity of a nerve or irritable muscle, or capable of producing an impression upon a sensory organ or more particularly upon its specific end organ.

Note: Of the stimuli applied to the sensory apparatus, physiologists distinguish two kinds: (a) Homologous stimuli, which act only upon the end organ, and for whose action the sense organs are especially adapted, as the rods and cones of the retina for the vibrations of the either. (b) Heterologous stimuli, which are mechanical, chemical, electrical, etc., and act upon the nervous elements of the sensory apparatus along their entire course, producing, for example, the flash of light beheld when the eye is struck. Landois & Stirling.

STING Sting, n. Etym: [AS. sting a sting. See Sting, v. t.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any sharp organ of offense and defense, especially when connected with a poison gland, and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing; as the caudal sting of a scorpion. The sting of a bee or wasp is a modified ovipositor. The caudal sting, or spine, of a sting ray is a modified dorsal fin ray. The term is sometimes applied to the fang of a serpent. See Illust. of Scorpion.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secrets an acrid fluid, as in nettles. The points of these hairs usually break off in the wound, and the acrid fluid is pressed into it.

3. Anything that gives acute pain, bodily or mental; as, the stings of remorse; the stings of reproach. The sting of death is sin. 1 Cor. xv. 56.

4. The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging. "The lurking serpent's mortal sting." Shak.

5. A goad; incitement. Shak.

6. The point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying. Sting moth (Zoöl.), an Australian moth (Doratifera vulnerans) whose larva is armed, at each end of the body, with four tubercles bearing powerful stinging organs. -- Sting ray. (Zoöl.) See under 6th Ray. -- Sting winkle (Zoöl.), a spinose marine univalve shell of the genus Murex, as the European species (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of Murex.

STING Sting, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stung (Archaic Stang (); p. pr. & vb. n. Stinging.] Etym: [AS. stingan; akin to Icel. & Sw. stinga, Dan. stinge, and probably to E. stick, v.t.; cf. Goth. usstiggan to put out, pluck out. Cf. Stick, v. t.]

1. To pierce or wound with a sting; as, bees will sting an animal that irritates them; the nettles stung his hands.

2. To pain acutely; as, the conscience is stung with remorse; to bite. "Slander stings the brave." Pope.

3. To goad; to incite, as by taunts or reproaches.

STINGAREE Sting`a*ree", n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any sting ray. See under 6th Ray.

STINGBULL Sting"bull`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European greater weever fish (Trachinus draco), which is capable of inflicting severe wounds with the spinous rays of its dorsal fin. See Weever.

STINGER Sting"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stings. Professor E. Forbes states that only a small minority of the medusæ of our seas are stingers. Owen.

STINGFISH Sting"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The weever.

STINGILY Stin"gi*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stingy manner.

STINGINESS Stin"gi*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stingy.

STINGING Sting"ing, a.

Defn: Piercing, or capable of piercing, with a sting; inflicting acute pain as if with a sting, goad, or pointed weapon; pungent; biting; as, stinging cold; a stinging rebuke. -- Sting"ing*ly, adv. Stinging cell. (Zoöl.) Same as Lasso cell, under Lasso.

STINGLESS Sting"less, a.

Defn: Having no sting.

STINGO Stin"go, n. Etym: [From Sting.]

Defn: Old beer; sharp or strong liquor. [Old Slang] Shall I set a cup of old stingo at your elbow Addison.

STING RAY; STINGRAY Sting ray or Sting"ray`, n.

Defn: Any one of numerous rays of the family Dasyatidæ, syn. Trygonidæ, having one or more large sharp barbed dorsal spines, on the whiplike tail, capable of inflicting severe wounds. Some species reach a large size, and some, esp., on the American Pacific coast, are very destructive to oysters.

STINGTAIL Sting"tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A sting ray.

STINGY Sting"y, a.

Defn: Stinging; able to sting.

STINGY Stin"gy, a. [Compar. Stingier; superl. Stingiest.] Etym: [Probably from sting, and meaning originally, stinging; hence, biting, nipping (of the wind), churlish, avaricious; or cf. E. skinch.]

Defn: Extremely close and covetous; meanly avaricious; niggardly; miserly; penurious; as, a stingy churl. A stingy, narrow-hearted fellow that had a deal of choice fruit, had not the heart to touch it till it began to be rotten. L'estrange.

STINK Stink, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stunk, Stank (, p. pr. & vb. n. Stinking.] Etym: [AS. stinkan to have a smell (whether good or bad); akin to OHG. stinchan, G. & D. stinken to stink; of uncertain origin; cf. Icel. stökkva to leap, to spring, Goth. stigqan to push, strike, or Gr. Stench.]

Defn: To emit a strong, offensive smell; to send out a disgusting odor.

STINK Stink, v. t.

Defn: To cause to stink; to affect by a stink.

STINK Stink, n. Etym: [AS. stinc.]

Defn: A strong, offensive smell; a disgusting odor; a stench. Fire stink. See under Fire. -- Stink-fire lance. See under Lance. -- Stink rat (Zoöl.), the musk turtle. [Local, U.S.] -- Stink shad (Zoöl.), the gizzard shad. [Local, U.S.] Stink trap, a stench trap. See under Stench.

STINKARD Stink"ard, n.

1. A mean, stinking, paltry fellow. B. Jonson.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The teledu of the East Indies. It emits a disagreeable odor.

STINKBALL Stink"ball`, n.

Defn: A composition of substances which in combustion emit a suffocating odor; -- used formerly in naval warfare.

STINKER Stink"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, stinks.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of the several species of large antarctic petrels which feed on blubber and carrion and have an offensive odor, as the giant fulmar.

STINKHORN Stink"horn`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of fungus of the genus Phallus, which emits a fetid odor.

STINKING Stink"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Stink, v. Stinking badger (Zoöl.), the teledu. -- Stinking cedar (Bot.), the California nutmeg tree; also, a related tree of Florida (Torreya taxifolia).

STINKINGLY Stink"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stinking manner; with an offensive smell.

STINKPOT Stink"pot`, n.

1. An earthen jar charged with powder, grenades, and other materials of an offensive and suffocating smell, -- sometimes used in boarding an enemy's vessel.

2. A vessel in which disinfectants are burned.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The musk turtle, or musk tortoise. See under Musk.

STINKSTONE Stink"stone`, n. (Min.)

Defn: One of the varieties of calcite, barite, and feldspar, which emit a fetid odor on being struck; -- called also swinestone.

STINKWEED Stink"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Stramonium. See Jamestown weed, and Datura.

STINKWOOD Stink"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several kinds of wood with an unpleasant smell, as that of the Foetidia Mauritiana of the Mauritius, and that of the South African Ocotea bullata.

STINT Stint, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of small sandpipers, as the sanderling of Europe and America, the dunlin, the little stint of India (Tringa minuta), etc. Called also pume. (b) A phalarope.

STINT Stint, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Stinting.] Etym: [OE. stinten, stenten, stunten, to cause to cease, AS. styntan (in comp.) to blunt, dull, fr. stunt dull, stupid; akin to Icel. stytta to shorten, stuttr short, dial, Sw. stynta to shorten, stunt short. Cf. Stent, Stunt.]

1. To restrain within certain limits; to bound; to confine; to restrain; to restrict to a scant allowance. I shall not go about to extenuate the latitude of the curse upon the earth, or stint it only to the production of weeds. Woodward. She stints them in their meals. Law.

2. To put an end to; to stop. [Obs.] Shak.

3. To assign a certain (i. e., limited) task to (a person), upon the performance of which one is excused from further labor for the day or for a certain time; to stent.

4. To serve successfully; to get with foal; -- said of mares. The majority of maiden mares will become stinted while at work. J. H. Walsh.

STINT Stint, v. i.

Defn: To stop; to cease. [Archaic] They can not stint till no thing be left. Chaucer. And stint thou too, I pray thee. Shak. The damsel stinted in her song. Sir W. Scott.

STINT Stint, n. Etym: [Also written stent. See Stint, v. t.]

1. Limit; bound; restraint; extent. God has wrote upon no created thing the utmost stint of his power. South.

2. Quantity or task assigned; proportion allotted. His old stint -- three thousand pounds a year. Cowper.

STINTANCE Stint"ance, n.

Defn: Restraint; stoppage. [Obs.]

STINTEDNESS Stint"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being stinted.

STINTER Stint"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stints.

STINTLESS Stint"less, a.

Defn: Without stint or restraint. The stintlesstears of old Heraclitus. Marston.

STIPE Stipe, n. Etym: [L. stipes a stock, post, branch: cf. F. stipe.] (Bot.) (a) The stalk or petiole of a frond, as of a fern. (b) The stalk of a pistil. (c) The trunk of a tree. (d) The stem of a fungus or mushroom.

STIPEL Sti"pel, n. Etym: [See Stipule.] (Bot.)

Defn: The stipule of a leaflet. Gray.

STIPELLATE Sti*pel"late, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having stipels.

STIPEND Sti"pend, n. Etym: [L. stipendium; stips, gen. stipis, a gift, donation, given in small coin + pendere to weigh or pay out.]

Defn: Settled pay or compensation for services, whether paid daily, monthly, or annually.

STIPEND Sti"pend, v. t.

Defn: To pay by settled wages. [R.]

STIPENDIARIAN Sti*pen`di*a"ri*an, a.

Defn: Acting from mercenary considerations; stipendiary. A. Seward.

STIPENDIARY Sti*pen"di*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. stipendiarius: cf. F. stipendiaire.]

Defn: Receiving wages, or salary; performing services for a stated price or compensation. His great stipendiary prelates came with troops of evil-appointed horseman not half full. Knolles.

STIPENDIARY Sti*pen"di*a*ry, n.; pl. Stipendiaries (.

Defn: One who receives a stipend. If thou art become A tyrant's vile stipendiary. Glover.

STIPENDIATE Sti*pen"di*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. stipendiatus, p.p. of stipendiari to receive pay.]

Defn: To provide with a stipend, or salary; to support; to pay. Evelyn. It is good to endow colleges, and to found chairs, and to stipendiate professors. I. Taylor.

STIPENDLESS Sti"pend*less (sti"pênd*lês), a.

Defn: Having no stipend.

STIPES Sti"pes (-pez), n.; pl. Stipites. Etym: [L., a stock.] (Zoöl.) (a) The second joint of a maxilla of an insect or a crustacean. (b) An eyestalk.

STIPITATE Stip"i*tate, a. Etym: [NL. stipitatus, from L. stipes, gen. stipitis, a stock. See Stipe.] (Bot.)

Defn: Supported by a stipe; elevated on a stipe, as the fronds of most ferns, or the pod of certain cruciferous plants.

STIPITIFORM Stip"i*ti*form, a. Etym: [Stipes + -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having the shape of a stalk; stalklike.

STIPPLE Stip"ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stippled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stippling.] Etym: [D. stippelen to make points, to spot, dot, from stippel, dim. of stip a dot, spot.]

1. To engrave by means of dots, in distinction from engraving in lines. The interlaying of small pieces can not altogether avoid a broken, stippled, spotty effect. Milman.

2. To paint, as in water colors, by small, short touches which together produce an even or softly graded surface.

STIPPLE; STIPPLING Stip"ple, Stip"pling, n. (Engraving)

Defn: A mode of execution which produces the effect by dots or small points instead of lines.

2. (Paint.)

Defn: A mode of execution in which a flat or even tint is produced by many small touches.

STIPTIC Stip"tic, a. & n. (Med.)

Defn: See Styptic.

STIPULA Stip"u*la, n.; pl. E. Stipulas, L. Stipulæ. Etym: [L., a stalk, stem.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A stipule.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A newly sprouted feather.

STIPULACEOUS; STIPULAR Stip`u*la"ceous, Stip"u*lar, a. Etym: [Cf. F. stipulacé, stipulaire. See Stipula.] (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to stipules; resembling stipules; furnished with stipules; growing on stipules, or close to them; occupying the position of stipules; as, stipular glands and stipular tendrils.

STIPULARY Stip"u*la*ry, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to stipules; stipular.

STIPULATE Stip"u*late, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Furnished with stipules; as, a stipulate leaf.

STIPULATE Stip"u*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stipulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stipulating.] Etym: [L. stipulatus, p.p. of stipulari to stipulate, fr. OL. stipulus firm, fast; probably akin to L. stipes a post. Cf. Stiff.]

Defn: To make an agreement or covenant with any person or company to do or forbear anything; to bargain; to contract; to settle terms; as, certain princes stipulated to assist each other in resisting the armies of France.

STIPULATION Stip`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. stipulatio: cf. F. stipulation.]

1. The act of stipulating; a contracting or bargaining; an agreement.

2. That which is stipulated, or agreed upon; that which is definitely arranged or contracted; an agreement; a covenant; a contract or bargain; also, any particular article, item, or condition, in a mutual agreement; as, the stipulations of the allied powers to furnish each his contingent of troops.

3. (Law)

Defn: A material article of an agreement; an undertaking in the nature of bail taken in the admiralty courts; a bargain. Bouvier. Wharton.

Syn. -- Agreement; contract; engagement. See Covenant.

STIPULATION Stip`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [See Stipule.] (Bot.)

Defn: The situation, arrangement, and structure of the stipules.

STIPULATOR Stip"u*la`tor, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: One who stipulates, contracts, or covenants.

STIPULE Stip"ule, n. Etym: [L. stipula a stalk, stem, straw: cf. F. stipule. Cf. Stubble.] (Bot.)

Defn: An appendage at the base of petioles or leaves, usually somewhat resembling a small leaf in texture and appearance.

STIPULED Stip"uled, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Furnished with stipules, or leafy appendages.

STIR Stir, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stirred; p. pr. & vb. n. Stirring.] Etym: [OE. stiren, steren, sturen, AS. styrian; probably akin to D. storen to disturb, G. stören, OHG. storen to scatter, destroy. *166.]

1. To change the place of in any manner; to move. My foot I had never yet in five days been able to stir. Sir W. Temple.

2. To disturb the relative position of the particles of, as of a liquid, by passing something through it; to agitate; as, to stir a pudding with a spoon. My mind is troubled, like a fountain stirred. Shak.

3. To bring into debate; to agitate; to moot. Stir not questions of jurisdiction. Bacon.

4. To incite to action; to arouse; to instigate; to prompt; to excite. "To stir men to devotion." Chaucer. An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife. Shak. And for her sake some mutiny will stir. Dryden.

Note: In all senses except the first, stir is often followed by up with an intensive effect; as, to stir up fire; to stir up sedition.

Syn. -- To move; incite; awaken; rouse; animate; stimulate; excite; provoke.

STIR Stir, v. i.

1. To move; to change one's position. I had not power to stir or strive, But felt that I was still alive. Byron.

2. To be in motion; to be active or bustling; to exert or busy one's self. All are not fit with them to stir and toil. Byron. The friends of the unfortunate exile, far from resenting his unjust suspicions, were stirring anxiously in his behalf. Merivale.

3. To become the object of notice; to be on foot. They fancy they have a right to talk freely upon everything that stirs or appears. I. Watts.

4. To rise, or be up, in the morning. [Colloq.] Shak.

STIR Stir, n.

1. The act or result of stirring; agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements. Why all these words, this clamor, and this stir Denham. Consider, after so much stir about genus and species, how few words we have yet settled definitions of. Locke.

2. Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar. Being advertised of some stirs raised by his unnatural sons in England. Sir J. Davies.

3. Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions.

STIRABOUT Stir"a*bout`, n.

Defn: A dish formed of oatmeal boiled in water to a certain consistency and frequently stirred, or of oatmeal and dripping mixed together and stirred about in a pan; a hasty pudding.

STIRIATED Stir"i*a`ted, a. Etym: [L. stiria an icicle.]

Defn: Adorned with pendants like icicles.

STIRIOUS Stir"i*ous, a. Etym: [L. stiria an icicle.]

Defn: Resembling icicles. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

STIRK Stirk, n. Etym: [AS. stric, from steór a steer. See Steer a young ox.]

Defn: A young bullock or heifer. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

STIRLESS Stir"less, a.

Defn: Without stirring; very quiet; motionless. "Lying helpless and stirless." Hare.

STIRP Stirp, n. Etym: [L. stirps, stirpis.]

Defn: Stock; race; family. [Obs.] Bacon.

STIRPICULTURE Stir"pi*cul`ture, n. Etym: [L. stirps, stirpis, stem, stock, race + cultura culture.]

Defn: The breeding of special stocks or races.

STIRPS Stirps, n.; pl. Stirpes. Etym: [L., stem, stock.]

1. (Law)

Defn: Stock; race; family. Blackstone.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A race, or a fixed and permanent variety.

STIRRAGE Stir"rage, n.

Defn: The act of stirring; stir; commotion. [Obs.] T. Granger.

STIRRER Stir"rer, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stirs something; also, one who moves about, especially after sleep; as, an early stirrer. Shak. Stirrer up, an instigator or inciter. Atterbury.

STIRRING Stir"ring, a.

Defn: Putting in motion, or being in motion; active; active in business; habitually employed in some kind of business; accustomed to a busy life. A more stirring and intellectual age than any which had gone before it. Southey.

Syn. -- Animating; arousing; awakening; stimulating; quickening; exciting.

STIRRUP Stir"rup, n. Etym: [OE. stirop, AS. stigrap; stigan to mount, ascend + rap a rope; akin to G. stegreif a stirrup. *164. See Sty, v. i., and Rope.]

1. A kind of ring, or bent piece of metal, wood, leather, or the like, horizontal in one part for receiving the foot of a rider, and attached by a strap to the saddle, -- used to assist a person in mounting a horse, and to enable him to sit steadily in riding, as well as to relieve him by supporting a part of the weight of the body. Our host upon his stirpoes stood anon. Chaucer.

2. (Carp. & Mach.)

Defn: Any piece resembling in shape the stirrup of a saddle, and used as a support, clamp, etc. See Bridle iron.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A rope secured to a yard, with a thimble in its lower end for supporting a footrope. Totten. Stirrup bone (Anat.), the stapes. -- Stirrup cup, a parting cup taken after mounting. -- Stirrup iron, an iron stirrup. -- Stirrup leather, or Stirrup strap, the strap which attaches a stirrup to the saddle. See Stirrup, 1.

STIRT Stirt, obs. p. p. of Start, v. i.

Defn: Started; leaped. They privily be stirt into a well. Chaucer.

STIRTE Stir"te, obs.

Defn: imp. of Start, v. i. & t. Chaucer.

STITCH Stitch, n. Etym: [OE. stiche, AS. stice a pricking, akin to stician to prick. See Stick, v. i.]

1. A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.

2. A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn; as, to let down, or drop, a stitch; to take up a stitch.

3. Etym: [Cf. OE. sticche, stecche, stucche, a piece, AS. stycce. Cf. Stock.]

Defn: A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle; hence, by extension, any space passed over; distance. You have gone a good stitch. Bunyan. In Syria the husbandmen go lightly over with their plow, and take no deep stitch in making their furrows. Holland.

4. A local sharp pain; an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle; as, a stitch in the side. He was taken with a cold and with stitches, which was, indeed, a pleurisy. Bp. Burnet.

5. A contortion, or twist. [Obs.] If you talk, Or pull your face into a stitch again, I shall be angry. Marston.

6. Any least part of a fabric or dress; as, to wet every stitch of clothes. [Colloq.]

7. A furrow. Chapman. Chain stitch, Lock stitch. See in the Vocabulary. -- Pearl, or Purl stitch. See 2nd Purl, 2.

STITCH Stitch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stitched; p. pr. & vb. n. Stitching.]

1. To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches; as, to stitch a shirt bosom.

2. To sew, or unite together by stitches; as, to stitch printed sheets in making a book or a pamphlet.

3. (Agric.)

Defn: To form land into ridges. To stitch up, to mend or unite with a needle and thread; as, to stitch up a rent; to stitch up an artery.

STITCH Stitch, v. i.

Defn: To practice stitching, or needlework.

STITCHEL Stitch"el, n.

Defn: A kind of hairy wool. [Prov.]

STITCHER Stitch"er, n.

Defn: One who stitches; a seamstress.

STITCHERY Stitch"er*y, n.

Defn: Needlework; -- in comtempt. Shak.

STITCHING Stitch"ing, n.

1. The act of one who stitches.

2. Work done by sewing, esp. when a continuous line of stitches is shown on the surface; stitches, collectively.

STITCHWORT Stitch"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Stichwort.

STITH Stith, a. Etym: [AS. sti.]

Defn: Strong; stiff; rigid. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

STITH Stith, n. Etym: [Icel. ste an anvil, akin to sta place. See Stead.]

Defn: An anvil; a stithy. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] He invented also pincers, hammers, iron crows, and the anvil, or stith. Holland.

STITHY Stith"y, n. Etym: [See Stith, and cf. Stiddy.]

1. An anvil. Sir W. Scott.

2. A smith's shop; a smithy; a smithery; a forge. "As foul as Vulcan's stithy." Shak.

STITHY Stith"y, v. t.

Defn: To forge on an anvil. The forge that stithied Mars his helm. Shak.

STIVE Stive, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stived; p. pr. & vb. n. Stiving.] Etym: [Probably fr. F. estiver to compress, stow, L. stipare: cf. It. stivare, Sp. estivar. Cf. Stevedore, Stiff.]

Defn: To stuff; to crowd; to fill full; hence, to make hot and close; to render stifling. Sandys. His chamber was commonly stived with friends or suitors of one kind or other. Sir H. Wotton.

STIVE Stive, v. i.

Defn: To be stifled or suffocated.

STIVE Stive, n.

Defn: The floating dust in flour mills caused by the operation or grinding. De Colange.

STIVER Sti"ver, n. Etym: [D. stuiver; akin to G. stüber, Dan. styver, Sw. styfver.]

Defn: A Dutch coin, and money of account, of the value of two cents, or about one penny sterling; hence, figuratively, anything of little worth.

STIVES Stives, n. pl. Etym: [OE. See Stew.]

Defn: Stews; a brothel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

STOAK Stoak, v. t. Etym: [Cf. G. stocken.] (Naut.)

Defn: To stop; to choke.

STOAT Stoat, n. Etym: [OE. stot a stoat, horse, bullock; perhaps originally only of male animals, and akin to D. stooten to push, E. stutter; cf. Icel. st a bull, Sw. stut a bullock. Cf. Stot.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The ermine in its summer pelage, when it is reddish brown, but with a black tip to the tail. The name is sometimes applied also to other brown weasels.

STOCAH Sto"cah, n. Etym: [Ir. & Gael. stocach an idle fellow who lives on the industry of others, a lounger.]

Defn: A menial attendant. [Obs.] Spenser.

STOCCADE Stoc*cade", n. & v.

Defn: See Stockade.

STOCCADO Stoc*ca"do, n. Etym: [F. estocade, fr. Sp. estocada, or It. stoccata, from Sp. estoque, or It. stocco, a rapier, fr. G. stock a stick. See Stock.]

Defn: A stab; a thrust with a rapier. Shak.

STOCHASTIC Sto*chas"tic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Conjectural; able to conjecture. [Obs.] Whitefoot.

STOCK Stock, n. Etym: [AS. stocc a stock, trunk, stick; akin to D. stok, G. stock, OHG. stoc, Icel. stokkr, Sw. stock, Dan. stok, and AS. stycce a piece; cf. Skr. tuj to urge, thrust. Cf. Stokker, Stucco, and Tuck a rapier.]

1. The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed, strong, firm part; the trunk. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. Job xiv. 8,9.

2. The stem or branch in which a graft is inserted. The scion overruleth the stock quite. Bacon.

3. A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post. All our fathers worshiped stocks and stones. Milton. Item, for a stock of brass for the holy water, seven shillings; which, by the canon, must be of marble or metal, and in no case of brick. Fuller.

4. Hence, a person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense. Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks. Shak.

5. The principal supporting part; the part in which others are inserted, or to which they are attached. Specifically: -- (a) The wood to which the barrel, lock, etc., of a musket or like firearm are secured; also, a long, rectangular piece of wood, which is an important part of several forms of gun carriage. (b) The handle or contrivance by which bits are held in boring; a bitstock; a brace. (c) (Joinery) The block of wood or metal frame which constitutes the body of a plane, and in which the plane iron is fitted; a plane stock. (d) (Naut.) The wooden or iron crosspiece to which the shank of an anchor is attached. See Illust. of Anchor. (e) The support of the block in which an anvil is fixed, or of the anvil itself. (f) A handle or wrench forming a holder for the dies for cutting screws; a diestock. (g) The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness. See Counterfoil. [Eng.]

6. The original progenitor; also, the race or line of a family; the progenitor of a family and his direct descendants; lineage; family. And stand betwixt them made, when, severally, All told their stock. Chapman. Thy mother was no goddess, nor thy stock From Dardanus. Denham.

7. Money or capital which an individual or a firm employs in business; fund; in the United States, the capital of a bank or other company, in the form of transferable shares, each of a certain amount; money funded in government securities, called also the public funds; in the plural, property consisting of shares in joint-stock companies, or in the obligations of a government for its funded debt; -- so in the United States, but in England the latter only are called stocks, and the former shares.

8. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: Same as Stock account, below.

9. Supply provided; store; accumulation; especially, a merchant's or manufacturer's store of goods; as, to lay in a stock of provisions. Add to that stock which justly we bestow. Dryden.

10. (Agric.)

Defn: Domestic animals or beasts collectively, used or raised on a farm; as, a stock of cattle or of sheep, etc.; -- called also live stock.

11. (Card Playing)

Defn: That portion of a pack of cards not distributed to the players at the beginning of certain games, as gleek, etc., but which might be drawn from afterward as occasion required; a bank. I must buy the stock; send me good cardings. Beau. & Fl.

12. A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado. [Obs.]

13. Etym: [Cf. Stocking.]

Defn: A covering for the leg, or leg and foot; as, upper stocks (breeches); nether stocks (stockings). [Obs.] With a linen stock on one leg. Shak.

14. A kind of stiff, wide band or cravat for the neck; as, a silk stock.

15. pl.

Defn: A frame of timber, with holes in which the feet, or the feet and hands, of criminals were formerly confined by way of punishment. He shall rest in my stocks. Piers Plowman.

16. pl. (Shipbuilding)

Defn: The frame or timbers on which a ship rests while building.

17. pl.

Defn: Red and gray bricks, used for the exterior of walls and the front of buildings. [Eng.]

18. (Bot.)

Defn: Any cruciferous plant of the genus Matthiola; as, common stock (Matthiola incana) (see Gilly-flower); ten-weeks stock (M. annua).

19. (Geol.)

Defn: An irregular metalliferous mass filling a large cavity in a rock formation, as a stock of lead ore deposited in limestone.

20. A race or variety in a species.

21. (Biol.)

Defn: In tectology, an aggregate or colony of persons (see Person), as trees, chains of salpæ, etc.

22. The beater of a fulling mill. Knight.

23. (Cookery)