I. ˈstā noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stey, stay, from Old English stæg; akin to Middle Low German stach rope, stay, Old Norse stag stay, German dialect (Alemannic) stagen to get stiff, Old English stēle, stȳle steel — more at steel
1. : a large strong rope usually of wire used to support a mast by being extended forward from the head of one mast down to some other or to some part of the ship : a fore-and-aft stay — compare backstay ; see ship illustration
2.
a. : a guy rope
b. : a tie piece to hold parts together or to contribute stiffness in engineering construction — compare strut
•
- at a long stay
- at a short stay
- in stays
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to fasten or secure (as a smokestack) with or as if with stays
2.
a. : to bring (a ship) about on the other tack
b. : to incline (a mast) forward, aft, or to one side by the stays and backstays
intransitive verb
: to go about : tack — used of a ship
III. verb
( stayed -ād ; or staid “ ; or nonstandard stood ˈstu̇d ; stayed or staid or nonstandard stood ; staying ; stays )
Etymology: Middle English steyen, from Middle French estei-, estai-, stem of ester to stand, stop, stay, from Latin stare to stand — more at stand
intransitive verb
1. : to halt an advance : stop going forward : pause
if he paused here at all, he didn't stay to found a city — Green Peyton
2. : to stop doing something : cease — often used with from
3. : to reach an end : become stopped — used of a process or action
4.
a. : to remain somewhere or with someone rather than proceed or leave
stay with us until the bridge is repaired — Victor Canning
— often used with on
proposed a brief visit but stayed on for months
b. : to continue in a place or condition : remain unmoved or unaltered
the instrument staid in tune for a greater period of time — A.E.Wier
c.
(1) : to remain in the stomach — often used with down
couldn't make spicy foods stay down
(2) : to satisfy appetite substantially — used of food
5. : to stand firm : hold steadfast
6. : to take up or maintain residence : live , lodge , visit
stayed overnight at a waterfront hotel
stayed with friends all along his route
7. obsolete : to wait quietly or passively
8. obsolete : to become deferred or kept waiting : become postponed
9. obsolete : hesitate , delay , abstain
10. : to keep even in a contest or rivalry — used with with
was supremely confident that no rival could stay with him — Allison Danzig & Joe King
11. : to call a poker bet without raising — often used with in
12. obsolete : to be in waiting or attendance
13.
a. : to remain in order to wait
stayed neither for time nor tide
stayed for me after the dinner
b. : to remain in order to share or participate — used with for
urged them to stay for tea
transitive verb
1. : to wait for : abide , await
I will not stay thy questions — Shakespeare
2. : to last out (a race, contest, or trial of endurance) : hold out for the extent or duration of : stick
should not be troubled to stay the mile and a half — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
we may not be able to stay the course against moderately efficient tyranny — Times Literary Supplement
3. : to remain during : assist at : participate in
she stayed the sacrament — Jane Austen
4. : to stop the progress or advance of : hold from proceeding : check , delay , detain , restrain
the huge man in the red shirt stayed his cudgel — Michael Arlen
do something to stay bloodshed — Charles Dickens
might have stayed the ruinous rise in prices — E.H.Youngman
5. archaic : to take or hold prisoner
6. : to stop or keep something from moving : hold motionless : fix
7.
a. : to prevent, block, or stop from an action or proceeding : hold back
there is nothing here … to stay us in our flight — Virginia Woolf
b. : to stop or suspend the effect or progress of by judicial proceedings or executive mandate
the court of appeals stayed the order
denied a motion by counsel to stay the annual meeting
c. archaic : to cease from (an action, motion, or process)
8. : to check the course of (a disease or an evil influence) : halt
that the plague may be stayed from the people — 1 Chron 21:22 (Authorized Version)
9. : allay , calm , pacify
stayed the civil war
10. : to quiet the hunger of temporarily : appease the pangs of appetite of : satisfy
a glass of milk stayed me until meal time
offered him a snack to stay his stomach
Synonyms:
remain , wait , abide , linger , tarry : stay , the most general of these verbs, suggests a continuance in one place for an appreciable time, often as, or in the manner of a visitor or guest
stay at a hotel for a week
stayed for the evening meal — Sherwood Anderson
the itinerant weaver and the household loom stayed on in the smaller communities until late in the nineteenth century — American Guide Series: Michigan
remain can add the idea of staying after the time of expected departure or a reasonable occasion for departure
the others left but the officer remained for an hour more
went to Europe in the spring of 1806, remaining over a year — M.H.Thomas
no permanent ice remains, but snowbanks persist in places — Gladys Wrigley
in earlier geological periods these were gigantic ranges; today only a few precipitous slopes remain — American Guide Series: Minnesota
piles of stones remain to indicate the site of the mission's gristmill — American Guide Series: Tennessee
wait implies an event in the future, immediate or distant, for which one stays in anticipation
wait for the guests to depart
if we were to wait for the scientists to reach conclusions conducive to certitude, we would have a long wait — L.A.Foley
when a man disregards current conventions he must wait for the future — O.W.Holmes †1935
abide signifies to stay for considerable time, suggesting long residence or a patient waiting or sometimes the staying of one who has found a place of respite or repose and has no immediate intention of leaving
he must get out alone … into the wilderness and abide there hunting till he had built up his strength and regained his pride — Stuart Cloete
here she was forced to abide — Thomas Hardy
the foundation of a culture whose influence will abide while the world stands — Edward Clodd
linger and tarry both suggest a remaining or staying on in one place by a delaying of departure or of expected procedure in a given direction as from fondness for the place or situation or its concomitants or from uncertainty or recalcitrance
the less casual visitor, with time to linger, senses the charm of the old church — American Guide Series: Texas
a young American who is lingering in Europe after the First World War — B.R.Redman
she lingered for a few moments to talk with him — Sherwood Anderson
numerous legends linger around this old dwelling — American Guide Series: Connecticut
they did not tarry in the little settlement but sailed up the Ashley river, and chose a site 18 miles above the town — L.H.Beck
that night after the guests had tarried long over their tea … the woman still lingered behind the stove — Pearl Buck
Synonym: see in addition defer , reside .
•
- stay put
IV. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a bringing to a stop : the action of halting : the state of being stopped : check
b. : a stopping or suspension of procedure or execution by judicial or executive order
was asked to grant a stay of execution — New York Times
c. : the cessation of motion, progression, or action : a coming to a halt
pressed forward without stop or stay
d. obsolete : something that causes a stop : hindrance , obstacle , obstruction
2. obsolete : moderation , self-control
3. obsolete : a time of waiting or delay : deferment , postponement
4. : a temporary residence or sojourn : a period of abode
an extended holiday lengthened itself into a stay of 16 years — J.T.Ellis
5. : capacity for endurance : staying power
6. : a fixed or stationary condition : a state without motion forward or back : standstill
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French estaie, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch staen to stand, Old High German stān, stēn — more at stand
1.
a. : something that serves as a prop : brace , support
special lid stays and pneumatic dampers hold the lid open — National Stamp News
b. : someone or something that supports or helps : an object of reliance
in this kingdom of illusions we grope eagerly for stays and foundations — R.W.Emerson
this great valiant class, the stay of domestic England — Bernardine Kielty
2.
a. : a corset stiffened with bones and especially made in two pieces and laced together — usually used in plural
b. : the bones so used — usually used in plural
3. : a series of plain or fancy stitches or a piece of cloth sewn into a garment for reinforcing points of strain, controlling fullness, or preventing stretching
4. : a corner reinforcement in a rigid paper box
VI. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: partly from Middle French estaier, from estaie, n.; partly from stay (V)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to hold up or provide support for : prop , sustain
a hand on her uncle's chair to stay herself from falling — George Meredith
b. : to provide moral support for : comfort , strengthen
turned from the man whose friendship had stayed him — Winston Churchill
2. : to fix on as a foundation : ground , rest
all my trust on thee is stayed — Charles Wesley
3. : to reinforce or strengthen with stays or supports of various kinds: as
a. : to sew stays into (as a corset)
b. : to reinforce (weak fur pelts) with fabric on the leather side
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to be upheld : lean , rest — used with on or upon
2. obsolete : to place reliance or confidence : show trust : depend — used with on or upon
Synonyms: see base