STAY


Meaning of STAY in English

I. ˈstā noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English stæg; akin to Old Norse stag stay

Date: before 12th century

1. : a large strong rope usually of wire used to support a mast

2. : guy I

II. verb

Date: 1627

transitive verb

1. : to secure upright with or as if with stays

2. : to incline (a mast) forward, aft, or to one side by the stays

intransitive verb

: to go about : tack

III. verb

( stayed ˈstād ; also staid ˈstād ; stay·ing )

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estei -, estai -, stem of ester to stand, stay, from Latin stare — more at stand

Date: 15th century

intransitive verb

1. : to stop going forward : pause

2. : to stop doing something : cease

3. : to continue in a place or condition : remain

stay ed up all night

went for a short vacation but stay ed on for weeks

stay put till I come back

4. : to stand firm

5. : to take up residence : lodge

6. : to keep even in a contest or rivalry

stay with the leaders

7. : to call a poker bet without raising

8. obsolete : to be in waiting or attendance

transitive verb

1. : to wait for : await

2. : to stick or remain with (as a race or trial of endurance) to the end — usually used in the phrase stay the course

3. : to remain during

stay ed the whole time

4.

a. : to stop or delay the proceeding or advance of by or as if by interposing an obstacle : halt

stay an execution

b. : to check the course of (as a disease)

c. : allay , pacify

stay ed tempers

d. : to quiet the hunger of temporarily

Synonyms: see defer

IV. noun

Date: 1536

1.

a. : the action of halting : the state of being stopped

b. : a stopping or suspension of procedure or execution by judicial or executive order

2. obsolete : self-control , moderation

3. : a residence or sojourn in a place

4. : capacity for endurance

V. noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French estaie, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch stake pole, Middle Low German stak post, stake pole — more at stake

Date: 14th century

1. : one that serves as a prop : support

2. : a thin firm strip (as of plastic) used for stiffening a garment or part (as a shirt collar)

3. : a corset stiffened with bones — usually used in plural

VI. transitive verb

Date: 1548

1. : to provide physical or moral support for : sustain

2. : to fix on something as a foundation

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.