Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STA-LAC'TI-FORM, or STA-LAC-TIT'I-FORM, a.

Lilco stalactite; resembling an icicle. – Phillips.

STA-LAC'TITE, n. [Gr. σταλακτος, σταλακτις, from σταλαζω, to drop, from σταλαω, L. stillo.]

A subvariety of carbonate of lime, usually in a conical or cylindrical form, pendent from the roofs and sides of caverns like an icicle; produced by the filtration of water containing calcarious particles, through fissures and pores of rocks. Encyc. Cleaveland.

STA-LAC-TIT'IC, a.

In the form of stalactite, or pendent substances like icicles. – Kirwan.

STA-LAG'MITE, n. [L. stalagmium, a drop; Gr. σταλαγμος, supra.]

A deposit of earthy or calcarious matter, formed by drops on the floors of caverns. – Encyc. Woodward.

STA-LAG-MIT'IC, a.

Having the form of stalagmite.

STA-LAG-MIT'IC-AL-LY, adv.

In the form or manner of a stalagmite. – Buckland.

STAL'DER, n.

A wooden frame to set casks on. [Not used in the United States.]

STALE, a. [I do not find this word in the other Teutonic dialects. It is probably from the root of still, G. stellen, to set, and equivalent to stagnant.]

1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit and flavor from being long kept; as, stale beer.
2. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed; as, a stale virgin. – Spectator.
3. Worn out by use; trite; common; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; as, a stale remark.

STALE, n.¹ [probably that which is set; G. stellen. See Stall.]

1. Something set or offered to view as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool-fowl. Still as he went, he crafty stales did lay. – Spenser. A pretense of kindness is the universal stale to all base projects. – Gov. of the Tongue. [In this sense obsolete.]
2. A prostitute. [Obs.] – Shak.
3. Old vapid beer. [Obs.]
4. A long handle; as, the stale of a rake. [Sax. stel, stele; D. steel; G. stiel.] – Mortimer.
5. A word applied to the king in chess when stalled or set; that is, when so situated that he can not be moved without going into check, by which the game is ended. – Bacon.

STALE, n.²

Urine; used of horses and cattle.

STALE, v.i. [G. stallen; Dan. staller; Sw. stalla.]

To make water; to discharge urine; as horses and cattle.

STALE, v.t.

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

STALE'LY, adv.

Of old; of a long time. [Obs.] – B. Jonson.

STALE'NESS, n.

1. The state of being stale; vapidness; the state of having lost the life or flavor; oldness; as, the staleness of beer or other liquors; the staleness of provisions. – Bacon. Addison.
2. The state of being worn out; triteness; commonness; as, the staleness of an observation.

STALK, n.¹ [stauk; Sw. stielk; D. steel; G. stiel, a handle, and a stalk or stem; Sax. stælg, a column; Gr. στελεκος; from the root of stall and G. stollen, to set.]

1. The stem or main axis of a plant. Thus we speak of a stalk of wheat, rye or oats, the stalks of maiz or hemp. The stalk denotes that which is set, the fixed part of a plant, its support; or it is a shoot.
2. The pedicle of a flower, or the peduncle that supports the fructification of a plant.
3. The stem of a quill. – Grew.

STALK, n.²

A high, proud, stately step or walk. – Spenser.

STALK, v.i. [Sax. stælcan.]

1. To 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 mien he stalk'd along the ground. – Dryden. Then stalking through the deep / He fords the ocean. – Addison.
2. It is used with some insinuation of contempt or abhorrence. – Johnson. Bertran / Stalks close behind her, like a witch's fiend, / Pressing to be employ'd. – Dryden. 'Tis not to stalk about and draw fresh air / From time to time. – Addison.
3. To walk behind a stalking horse or behind a cover. The king crept under the shoulder of his led horse, and said, I must stalk. – Bacon.

STALK'ED, a.

Having a stalk.

STALK'ER, n.

One who walks with a proud step; also, a kind of fishing net.

STALK'ING, ppr.

Walking with proud or lofty steps.

STALK'ING-HORSE, n.

A horse, real or factitious, behind which a fowler conceals himself from the sight of the game which he is aiming to kill; hence, a mask; a pretense. Hypocrisy is the devil's stalking-horse, under an affectation of simplicity and religion. – L'Estrange.

STALK-LESS, a.

Having no stalk.

STALK'Y, a.

Hard as a stalk; resembling a stalk. – Mortimer.

STALL, n. [Sax. stæl, stal, stall, a place, a seat or station, a stable, state, condition; D. stal; G. stall, a stable, a stye; Dan. stald; Sw. stall; Fr. stalle and etal; It. stalla; W. ystal; from the root of G. stellen, to set, that is, to throw down, to thrust down; Sans. stala, a place. See Still.]

1. Primarily, a 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. The stable contains eight or ten stalls.
2. A stable; a place for cattle. At last he found a stall where oxen stood. – Dryden.
3. In 1 Kings iv, 26, stall is used for horse. “Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots.” In 2 Chron. ix, 25, stall means stable. “Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots.” These passages are reconciled by the definition given above; Solomon had four thousand stables, each containing ten stalls; forty thousand stalls.
4. A bench, form or frame of shelves in the open air, where any thing is exposed to sale. It is curious to observe the stalls of books in the boulevards and other public places in Paris.
5. A small house or shed in which an occupation is carried on; as, a butcher's stall. – Spenser.
6. The seat of a dignified clergyman in the choir. The dignified clergy, out of humility, have called their thrones by the name of stalls. [Probably a mistake of the reason.] – Warburton.

STALL, v.i.

1. To dwell; to inhabit. We could not stall together in the world. – Shak. [Not in use.]
2. To kennel.
3. To be set, as in mire.
4. To be tired of eating, as cattle.