I. ˈstil adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English stille, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch stille still, Old High German stilli still, Old English steall stall — more at stall
1.
a. : devoid of or abstaining from motion : immobile , stationary
each movement has its center, its still point — Isaac Rosenfeld
sorrow loomed over her and time was still — Ann Ryan
b. archaic : tending to remain in one place : sedentary
in his absence she was a still personage — Charlotte Brontë
c. : having no effervescence : not carbonated
still wine
prefer sparkling fruit juices to the still products — Improvements in the Manuf. & Preservation of Grape Juice
— opposed to sparkling
d. : of, relating to, being, or designed for taking a static photograph as contrasted with a motion picture
still camera
still photography
still projector
2.
a.
(1) : uttering no sound : disinclined to talk : quiet , taciturn
still as a mouse
her radio … was never still — Mavis Gallant
each with each patrols, in still society, hand in hand — R.P.Warren
(2) : calm in spirit : unperturbed
my soul was not still enough for songs — George Macdonald †1905
b. : subdued in tone or volume : muted , soothing
a still small voice of calm — J.G.Whittier
music by the night wind sent through strings of some still instrument — P.B.Shelley
3.
a. : free from agitation : tranquil , unruffled
dived so smoothly that she scarcely rippled the still water — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
b. : free from noise or turbulence : peaceful , silent
the street was still , save for the twittering of birds — Winston Churchill
the smack of fist against shoulder was sharp in the still barracks — Mack Morriss
still weather, and dry, powdery snow — O.E.Rölvaag
c. : caused to revert to a quiescent state : silenced , stilled
the sound of a voice that is still — Alfred Tennyson
d. archaic : lacking in incident or excitement : dull , uneventful
save us … from a tedious day, or shine the dullness of still life away — William Cowper
4. obsolete : continued , persevering
by still practice, learn to know thy meaning — Shakespeare
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stillen, from Old English stillan; akin to Middle Dutch & Old High German stillen to still, Old Norse stilla; derivative from the root of English still (I)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to subside or die down : allay , check
as suddenly as it had broken, the gale was stilled — Eric Linklater
b. : to put an end to : restore to order : pacify , settle
the threat of his coming had stilled the … revolt — John Buchan
nominal unification … had not stilled interservice bitterness — Time
c. : to arrest the motion of
before death stilled his hand — G.C.Sellery
2.
a. : to gratify fully : appease , assuage
neither beef nor mutton could still me — Francis Hackett
b. : to keep under control : overcome , restrain , suppress
drew a long breath and stilled her shuddering — Laura Krey
unable to still his persistent gambling instinct — T.H.White b. 1915
c. : to calm down : lull , soothe
a magic voice that stilled and … comforted you — L.C.Douglas
3.
a. : to repress the noise or clamor of : hush , silence
the once-thriving … metropolis is stilled by terror — Hal Lehrman
sirens are stilled … when they pass hospital or convalescent homes — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
b. : to cause to become quiet
stilled the people before Moses — Num 13:30 (Authorized Version)
intransitive verb
: to become motionless or silent : quiet
the large hand stilled on the heavy knee — Marc Brandel
the river stilled and froze — Hugh MacLennan
music from the dance band stilled — G.A.Wagner
— often used with down
the wind stills down — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms: see calm
III. adverb
Etymology: Middle English stille, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch stille quietly, Old High German stillo; adverb from the adjective represented by English still (I)
1. : without noise or motion : quietly
the girl sat as still as an image carved from marble — Louis Bromfield
2.
a. : in a continuous or constant manner : always , ever
remained for nearly a month … still widening his acquaintance — W.C.Ford
while we do his goodwill, He abides with us still — J.H.Sammis
b. archaic : in an uninterrupted manner : progressively
still his courage with his toils increased — Alexander Pope
c. : in spite of a preceding event or consideration : nevertheless , yet
many people who are excessively active in caring for the skin … still have acne — Morris Fishbein
the old but still important truth — M.R.Cohen
3.
a. : to the present time
ancient kitchen chimney place with its fireback and crane still in position — John Durant
still … revive the customs of their ancestral homelands — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : at the time in question — used with implication of imminent change
drink your coffee while it's still hot
still found themselves a good way from their unit by six o'clock — Earle Birney
teacher noted what words the pupil still did not know — Angell Mathewson
c. obsolete : without change in the future
discern the coming on of years, and think not to do the same things still — Francis Bacon
d. : to or at a greater distance : farther
west still , where the whitish sandy soil is thinly covered with grasses … cattle move and graze — Marjory S. Douglas
e. : in addition : beyond this
six or seven hundred men … and occasionally more still — Walt Whitman
still another example of cultural misunderstanding — A.A.Hill
4.
a. obsolete : to a greater extent
the guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed — Shakespeare
b. : even — used as an intensive to stress the comparative degree
half a dozen little brigs … and eight clumsy gun vessels that were smaller still — C.S.Forester
placed him still more in the wrong — W.C.Ford
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stille, from stille, adjective, still — more at still I
1. : a pervading calm or hush : quiet , silence
the still of the night
2.
a. : a static photograph
the instantaneous still which a deer took of himself — World's Work
specifically : a specially posed photograph taken of the actors or scenes of a motion picture production for publicity or documentary purposes
b. : a photograph, map, or chart inserted into a television program
3. : still alarm
V. conjunction
Etymology: still (III)
: but , nevertheless
still , all men, including dead men, can be wrong — Weston La Barre
still , aside from all other considerations, the relative importance seen in merit … may be a real issue — S.L.Payne
VI. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stillen, from Old French stiller, from Latin stillare to drip, trickle — more at distill
intransitive verb
obsolete : to trickle down in fine drops
transitive verb
obsolete : to exude or cause to fall in drops
pricks the clouds, stills down the rain — Francis Quarles
VII. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stillen, short for distillen to distill — more at distill
transitive verb
1. : to subject to distillation
still peaches for brandy
2. : to make or extract by distillation
still brandy from peaches
intransitive verb
: to perform distillation : distill
stilling was clearly against the law — H.E.Giles
VIII. noun
( -s )
1. : distillery 2
2. : apparatus used in distillation comprising sometimes only the chamber in which the vaporization is carried out or at other times other parts or the entire distillation equipment: as
a. : a vessel or boiler together with a condenser for use in distilling alcoholic liquors or other liquids — compare pot still
b. : a fractionating column or tower with or without its condensing equipment and receiver for use in distilling various substances sometimes with decomposition
ammonia stills
turpentine stills
petroleum topping stills
cracking stills
— compare retort , tar still
c.
(1) : equipment consisting essentially of an evaporator and a condenser for producing distilled water — called also water still
(2) : a compact device for converting salt water to fresh water
floating plastic solar stills
3. : a vessel in which manganese dioxide is treated with hydrochloric acid to form chlorine or a bleaching liquor — compare weldon process
IX. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: still (VIII)
: of or relating to a still ; especially : remaining as residual matter in a still after distillation
still bottoms
still coke