stay1
v.
- remain in the same place.
▸
(stay on)
continue to study, work, or be somewhere after others have left.
▸
(stay over)
stay for the night at someone's home or a hotel.
▸
(stay up)
not go to bed.
- remain in a specified state or position.
▸
(stay with)
continue, persevere, or keep up with (an activity or person).
- live somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest.
▸Scottish & S. African live permanently.
- stop, delay, or prevent, in particular suspend or postpone (judicial proceedings) or refrain from pressing (charges).
▸assuage (hunger) for a short time.
- literary support or prop up.
n.
- a period of staying somewhere.
- a curb or check, especially a suspension or postponement of judicial proceedings.
- a device used as a brace or support.
-
(stays)
historical a corset made of two pieces laced together and stiffened by strips of whalebone.
Phrase
Derivative
Etymology
ME: from Anglo-Norman Fr. estai-, stem of OFr. ester, from L. stare ‘to stand’; in the sense ‘support’, partly from OFr. estaye (n.), estayer (v.), of Gmc origin.
stay2
n.
- a large rope, wire, or rod used to support a ship's mast.
- a guy or rope supporting a flagstaff or other upright pole.
- a supporting wire or cable on an aircraft.
v.
secure or steady by means of a stay.
Phrase
- be in stays
(of a sailing ship) be head to the wind while tacking. - miss stays
(of a sailing ship) fail in an attempt to go about from one tack to another.
Etymology
OE stæg, of Gmc origin, from a base meaning ‘be firm’.