Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Stăl'ac-tĭ'tēs, n. sing. p. 1285A stalactite; — formerly used instead of stalactite. [Obs.] Stalactites is only spar in the shape of an icicle, accidentally formed in the perpendicular fissures of the stone. Woodward.Stāl'ac-tīt'ic or Stāl'ac-tīt'ic-al, a. p. 1285Having the form of a stalactite; having the characters of a stalactite. Dana.Stāl'ac-tīt'i-fōrm, a. p. 1285Having the form of a stalactite; stalactiform.Sta-lăg’mīte, n. p. 1285A deposit of earthy or calcareous matter, made by calcareous water dropping on the floors of caverns. [See Illust. of Stalactite.]Stāl'ag-mīt'ic or Stāl'ag-mīt'ic-al, a. p. 1285Having the form of stalagmites.Stål'ag-mīt'ie-al-ly, adv. p. 1285In the form or manner of stalagmites.Stal'der, n. p. 1285A wooden frame to set casks on. [Prov. Eng.]Stāle, a. p. 1285Vapid 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, stale bread. 3. Having lost the life or graces of youth…Stāle, n. p. 1285Something set or offered to view as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool-fowl. [Obs.] Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spencer. 2. A stalking horse.…Stāle, v. t. p. 1285To make vapid or useless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out. [Obs.] Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.Stāle, v. i. p. 1285To make water; to discharge urine;— said especially of horses and cattle.Stāle'ly, adv. p. 1285Of old; long since. [Obs.]Stāle'-māte, n. p. 1285(Chess-playing.) The position of the king, when, being required to move though not in check, he can not move without being placed in check.Stāle'ness, n. p. 1285The state of being stale; vapidness; as, the staleness of beer or other liquors; the staleness of provisions. 2. The state of being worn out; triteness; commonness; as, the staleness of an…Stālk, n. p. 1285A high, proud, stately step or walk. [Obs.] Spencer.Stalk, n. p. 1285The stem or main axis of a plant; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp. 2. The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant. 3. The stem of a quill. Grew. 4. (Arch.) An…Stalk, v. i. p. 1285To walk with high and proud steps; — usually implying the affectation of dignity, and hence the word usually expresses dislike. The poets, however, use the word to express dignity of step. With manly…Stalk, v. t. p. 1285To approach under cover of a screen, or by stealth. As for shooting a man from behind a wall, it is cruelty like to stalking a deer. W. Scott.Stalked, a. p. 1285Having a stalk.Stalk'er, n. p. 1285One who stalks. 2. A kind of fishing-net.Stalk'ing-hōrse, n. p. 1285A horse, or a figure resembling a horse, behind which a fowler conceals himself from the sight of the game which he is aiming to kill. 2. Hence, something used to cover up a secret project; a mask; a…Stalk'less, a. p. 1285Having no stalk.Stalk'y, a. p. 1285Hard as a stalk; resembling a stalk. Mortimer.Stall, n. p. 1285A stand; a station; a fixed spot; hence, the stand or place where a horse or an ox is kept and fed; the division of a stable, or the apartment for one horse or ox. 2. A stable; a place for cattle. At…Stall, v. t. p. 1285To put into a stall or stable; to keep in a stable; as, to stall an ox. “Where King Latinus then his oxen stalled.” Dryden. 2. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install. [Obs.]…Stall, v. i. p. 1285To dwell; to inhabit. [Obs.] We could not stall together in the world. Shak. 2. To kennel, as dogs. Johnson. 3. To be set, as in mire. 4. To be tired of eating, as cattle.Stall'age, n. p. 1285The right of erecting stalls in fairs; rent paid for a stall. 2. Laystall; dung; compost. [Obs.]Stal-lā'tion, n. p. 1285Installation. [Obs.] Cavendish.Stalled, a. p. 1285Put or kept in a stable; hence, fatted.Stall'er, n. p. 1285A standard-bearer. [Obs.] Fuller.Stall'-feed, v. t. p. 1285To feed and fatten in a stable, or on dry fodder; as, to stall-feed an ox.Stall'ion, n. p. 1285A horse not castrated; a stock-horse.Stāl'lon, n. p. 1285A slip from a plant; a cion; a cutting. Holinshed.Stall'-rēad'er, n. p. 1285One who reads or looks over books at a stall where they are exposed for sale. Cries the stall-reader, “Bless us, what a word on A title-page is this!” Milton.Stal'wart or Stal'worth (-wŏrth), a. p. 1285Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. “A stalwart tiller of the soil.” Prof. Wilson. Fair man he was and wise, stalworth and bold. R. Brunne. ☞ Stalworth is now disused, or but…Stal’worth-hōod or Stal’worth-ness, n. p. 1285The state or quality of being stalworth; strength; boldness; daring; stoutness. [Obs.]Stā'men, n. p. 1285A thread; especially, a warp thread. 2. The fixed, firm part of a body, which supports it or gives it its strength and solidity; as, the bones are the stamina of animal bodies; the ligneous parts of…Stā'mened, a. p. 1285Furnished with stamens.Sta'min, n. p. 1285A slight kind of woolen cloth; linsey-woolsey. Chaucer.Stăm'i-nal, a. p. 1285Pertaining to stamens or stamina; consisting in stamens or stamina.Stăm′ĭ-nate, a. p. 1285(Bot.) Furnished with stamens; producing stamens.Stăm'-i-nāte, v. t. p. 1285To indue with stamina.Sta-mīn'e-al or Sta-mīn'e-ous, a. p. 1285Consisting of stamens or threads. 2. (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or attached to, the stamens; as, a stamineous nectary.Stām'i-nif'er-ōūs, a. p. 1285Bearing or having stamens.Stām'i-nōde or Stām'i-nō'di-ūm, n. p. 1285(Bot.) An abortive stamen, or an organ resembling an abortive stamen. Henslow.Stām'mel, n. p. 1285[O. Fr. estamet, estamette, a coarse woolen cloth, Sp. estameta, It. stametto, L. Lat. stameta, a kind of cloth, the same as stamine; O. Fr. estame, a woolen stuff, Pr. estam, Sp. estambre, It.…Stăm'mel, a. p. 1285Of the color of stammel; having a red color paler than scarlet.Stăm'mer, v. i. p. 1285To stop in uttering syllables or words; to hesitate or falter in speaking; and hence, to speak with stops and difficulty; to stutter.Stăm'mer, v. t. p. 1285To utter, or pronounce, with hesitation, or imperfectly.Stăm'mer, n. p. 1285Defective utterance, or involuntary interruption of utterance; inability to pronounce certain words or syllables; a stutter.Stăm'mer-er, n. p. 1285One who stutters, or hesitates, in speaking.Stăm'mer-ing, p. a. p. 1285Apt to stammer.Stăm'mer-ing-ly, adv. p. 1285In a stammering manner.Stămp, v. t. p. 1285To strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward; as, to stamp the ground. He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. Dryden. 2. To impress…Stămp, v. i. p. 1285To strike the foot forcibly downward. “But starts, exclaims, and stamps, and raves, and dies.” Dennis.Stămp, n. p. 1285The act of stamping; as, a stamp of the foot. 2. That which stamps; any instrument for making impressions on other bodies. ’Tis gold so pure It can not bear the stamp without alloy. Dryden. 3. The…Stămp'-ăct, n. p. 1286An act of the British Parliament, imposing a duty on all paper, vellum, and parchment used in the British American colonies, and declaring all writings on unstamped materials to be null and void.Stämp'-col-lēct'or, n. p. 1286An officer who receives, or collects, stamp-duties; one who collects postage or other stamps. Simmonds.Stämp'-dū'ty, n. p. 1286A duty, or tax, imposed on paper and parchment, the evidence of the payment of which is a stamp.Stam-pēde', n. p. 1286A sudden fright seizing upon large bodies of cattle or horses, in droves or encampments on the prairies, and leading them to run for many miles, until they often sink down or die under their terrors…