STALE


Meaning of STALE in English

~ 1

■ adjective ( ~r , ~st )

1》 (of food) no longer fresh or pleasant to eat.

2》 no longer new and interesting.

↘(of a person) no longer performing well because of having done something for too long.

3》 (of a cheque or legal claim) invalid because out of date.

■ verb make or become ~.

Derivatives

~ly adverb

~ness noun

Origin

ME (describing beer in the sense 'clear from long standing'): prob. from Anglo-Norman Fr. and OFr., from e~r 'to halt'; cf. stall .

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~ 2

■ verb (of a horse or cow) urinate.

Origin

ME: perh. from OFr. e~r 'come to a stand, halt' (cf. ~ 1 ).

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.