I. ˈsted, dial ˈstid noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stede, from Old English; akin to Old High German stat place, Old Norse stathr, Gothic staths, Latin statio act of standing, station, statim on the spot, immediately, Greek stasis act of standing, position, Skr sthiti act of standing, position, tiṣṭhati he stands — more at stand
1. obsolete : locality , place
2. : farmstead 1
depicted a Tunisian cattle stead and its animals — National Geographic
3. : advantage , avail , service — used chiefly in the phrase to stand one in good stead
took voluminous notes which later stood him in good stead — W.O.Stevens
this tradition stands primitive peoples in good stead — Jane Nickerson
4. : a frame on which a bed is laid : bedstead
spool-turned cottage steads — Muriel E. Sheppard
5. : the office, place, or function ordinarily occupied or carried out by someone or something else
was again placed in the deputy's stead at the door — T.S.Stribling
including rent controls, and the application in their stead of indirect methods of inflation control — Current Biography
in the stead of the traditional view — S.F.Mason
6. Scotland : impress , trace , track
II. ˈsted transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English steden, from stede stead
1. : to be of avail to : assist , help , support
the great names cannot stead him, if he have no life himself — R.W.Emerson
2.
a. archaic : place , set
b. obsolete : to fill the place of : replace
advise this wronged maid to stead up your appointment, go in your place — Shakespeare
3. archaic : to involve in difficulty or danger : beset