GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 4 definitions
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Stay (stā), n. [AS. staeg, akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., & Dan. stag; cf. OF. estai, F. étai, of Teutonic origin.] (Naut.) A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel's side are called backstays. See Illust. of Ship.
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In stays, or Hove in stays (Naut.), in the act or situation of staying, or going about from one tack to another. R. H. Dana, Jr. -- Stay holes (Naut.), openings in the edge of a staysail through which the hanks pass which join it to the stay. -- Stay tackle (Naut.), a tackle attached to a stay and used for hoisting or lowering heavy articles over the side. -- To miss stays (Naut.), to fail in the attempt to go about. Totten. -- Triatic stay (Naut.), a rope secured at the ends to the heads of the foremast and mainmast with thimbles spliced to its bight into which the stay tackles hook.
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Stay (stā), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stayed (stād) or Staid (stād); p. pr. & vb. n. Staying.] [OF. estayer, F. étayer to prop, fr. OF. estai, F. étai, a prop, probably fr. OD. stade, staeye, a prop, akin to E. stead; or cf. stay a rope to support a mast. Cf. Staid, a., Stay, v. i.]
1. To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to fix firmly; to hold up; to support.
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Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. Ex. xvii. 12.
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Sallows and reeds . . . for vineyards useful found
To stay thy vines. Dryden.
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2. To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
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He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not staid his stomach for a minute. Sir W. Scott.
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3. To bear up under; to endure; to support; to resist successfully.
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She will not stay the siege of loving terms,
Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes. Shak.
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4. To hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain; to stop; to hold.
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Him backward overthrew and down him stayed
With their rude hands and grisly grapplement. Spenser.
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All that may stay their minds from thinking that true which they heartily wish were false. Hooker.
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5. To hinder; to delay; to detain; to keep back.
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Your ships are stayed at Venice. Shak.
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This business staid me in London almost a week. Evelyn.
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I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me new. Locke.
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6. To remain for the purpose of; to wait for. “I stay dinner there.” Shak.
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7. To cause to cease; to put an end to.
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Stay your strife. Shak.
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For flattering planets seemed to say
This child should ills of ages stay. Emerson.
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8. (Engin.) To fasten or secure with stays; as, “to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler”.
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9. (Naut.) To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind.
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To stay a mast (Naut.), to incline it forward or aft, or to one side, by the stays and backstays.
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Stay (stā), v. i. [√163. See Stay to hold up, prop.]
1. To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still.
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She would command the hasty sun to stay. Spenser.
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Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first. Dryden.
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I stay a little longer, as one stays
To cover up the embers that still burn. Longfellow.
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2. To continue in a state.
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The flames augment, and stay
At their full height, then languish to decay. Dryden.
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3. To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
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I 'll tell thee all my whole device
When I am in my coach, which stays for us. Shak.
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The father can not stay any longer for the fortune. Locke.
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4. To dwell; to tarry; to linger.
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I must stay a little on one action. Dryden.
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5. To rest; to depend; to rely; to stand; to insist.
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I stay here on my bond. Shak.
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Ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon. Isa. xxx. 12.
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6. To come to an end; to cease; as, “that day the storm stayed”. [Archaic]
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Here my commission stays. Shak.
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7. To hold out in a race or other contest; as, “a horse stays well”. [Colloq.]
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8. (Naut.) To change tack, as a ship.
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Stay, n. [Cf. OF. estai, F. étai support, and E. stay a rope to support a mast.]
1. That which serves as a prop; a support. “My only strength and stay.” Milton.
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Trees serve as so many stays for their vines. Addison.
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Lord Liverpool is the single stay of this ministry. Coleridge.
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2. pl. A corset stiffened with whalebone or other material, worn by women, and rarely by men.
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How the strait stays the slender waist constrain. Gay.
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3. Continuance in a place; abode for a space of time; sojourn; as, “you make a short stay in this city”.
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Make haste, and leave thy business and thy care;
No mortal interest can be worth thy stay. Dryden.
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Embrace the hero and his stay implore. Waller.
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4. Cessation of motion or progression; stand; stop.
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Made of sphere metal, never to decay
Until his revolution was at stay. Milton.
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Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a stay. Hayward.
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5. Hindrance; let; check. [Obs.]
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They were able to read good authors without any stay, if the book were not false. Robynson (More's Utopia).
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6. Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. [Obs.] “Not grudging that thy lust hath bounds and stays.” Herbert.
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The wisdom, stay, and moderation of the king. Bacon.
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With prudent stay he long deferred
The rough contention. Philips.
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7. (Engin.) Strictly, a part in tension to hold the parts together, or stiffen them.
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Stay bolt (Mech.), a bolt or short rod, connecting opposite plates, so as to prevent them from being bulged out when acted upon by a pressure which tends to force them apart, as in the leg of a steam boiler. -- Stay busk, a stiff piece of wood, steel, or whalebone, for the front support of a woman's stays. Cf. Busk. -- Stay rod, a rod which acts as a stay, particularly in a steam boiler.
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