STALES

Noun

stales

plural of stale

Verb

stales

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of stale

Anagrams

• Slates, astels, leasts, salets, slates, steals, stelas, tassel, teslas

Source: Wiktionary


STALE

Stale, n. Etym: [OE. stale, stele, AS. stæl, stel; akin to LG. & D. steel, G. stiel; cf. L. stilus stake, stalk, stem, Gr. stall, stalk, n.]

Definition: The stock or handle of anything; as, the stale of a rake. [Written also steal, stele, etc.] But seeling the arrow's stale without, and that the head did go No further than it might be seen. Chapman.

Stale, a. Etym: [Akin to stale urine, and to stall, n.; probably from Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. Stale, v. i.]

1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.

2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stele bread.

3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. "A stale virgin." Spectator.

4. Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; trite; common. Swift. Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. Grew. How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Shak. Stale affidavit (Law), an affidavit held above a year. Craig.

– Stale demand (Law), a claim or demand which has not been pressed or demanded for a long time.

Stale, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staled; p. pr. & vb. n. Staling.]

Definition: To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out. Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.

Stale, v. i. Etym: [Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, and E. stall a stable. Stall, n., and cf. Stale, a.]

Definition: To make water; to discharge urine; -- said especially of horses and cattle. Hudibras.

Stale, n. Etym: [See Stale, a. & v. i.]

1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.]

2. A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.

3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." Shak.

Stale, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market, F. étal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place, stable, G. stall (see Stall, n.); or from OE. stale theft, AS. stalu (see Steal, v. t.)]

1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.] Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spenser.

2. A stalking-horse. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

3. (Chess)

Definition: A stalemate. [Obs.] Bacon.

4. A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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