Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STUFF, n. [D. stof, stoffe; G. stoff; Dan. stöv; Sw. stoft; Goth. stubyus; It. stoffa; Sp. estofa; quilted stuff; estofar, to quilt, to stew. See Store and Stew.]

1. A mass of matter, indefinitely; or a collection of substances; as, a heap of dust, of chips or of dross.
2. The matter of which any thing is formed; materials. The carpenter and joiner speak of the stuff with which they build; mechanics pride themselves on having their wares made of good stuff. Time is the stuff which life is made of. – Franklin. Degrading prose explains his meaning ill, / And shows the stuff, and not the workman's skill. – Roscommon. Cesar hath wept; / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. – Shak.
3. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels in general. He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff. [Nearly obsolete.] – Hayward.
4. That which fills any thing. Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff / That weighs upon the heart. – Shak.
5. Essence; elemental part; as, the stuff of the conscience.
6. A medicine. [Vulgar.] – Shak.
7. Cloth; fabrics of the loom; as, silk stuffs; woolen stuffs. In this sense the word has a plural. Stuff comprehends all cloths, but it signifies particularly woolen cloth of slight texture for linings. – Encyc.
8. Matter or thing; particularly, that which is trifling or worthless; a very extensive use of the word. Flattery is fulsome stuff; poor poetry is miserable stuff. Anger would indite / Such woful stuff as I or Shadwell write. – Dryden.
9. Among seamen, a melted mass of turpentine, tallow, &c., with which the masts sides und bottom of a ship are smeared. – Mar. Dict.