stay¹ / stā/ • v. 1. [intr.] remain in the same place: you stay here and I'll be back soon Jenny decided to stay at home with their young child he stayed with the firm as a consultant. ∎  (stay for/to) delay leaving so as to join in (an activity): why not stay for lunch? ∎  (stay down) (of food) remain in the stomach, rather than be thrown up as vomit. ∎  (stay with) remain in the mind or memory of (someone): Gary's words stayed with her all evening. 2. [intr.] remain in a specified state or position: her ability to stay calm tactics used to stay in power I managed to stay out of trouble. ∎  (stay with) continue or persevere with (an activity or task): the incentive needed to stay with a healthy diet. ∎  (stay with) (of a competitor or player) keep up with (another) during a race or match. 3. [intr.] (of a person) live somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest: the girls had gone to stay with friends Minton invited him to stay the night. 4. [tr.] stop, delay, or prevent (something), in particular suspend or postpone (judicial proceedings) or refrain from pressing (charges). ∎  assuage (hunger) for a short time: I grabbed something to stay the pangs of hunger. ∎ poetic/lit. curb; check: he tries to stay the destructive course of barbarism. ∎  [intr.] archaic wait a moment in order to allow someone time to think or speak: stay, stand apart, I know not which is which. 5. [tr.] (usu. be stayed) poetic/lit. support or prop up. • n. 1. a period of staying somewhere, in particular of living somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest: an overnight stay at a luxury hotel. 2. poetic/lit. a curb or check: there is likely to be a good public library as a stay against boredom. ∎ Law a suspension or postponement of judicial proceedings: a stay of prosecution. 3. a device used as a brace or support. ∎  (stays) hist. a corset made of two pieces laced together and stiffened by strips of whalebone. PHRASES: be here (or have come) to stay inf. be permanent or widely accepted: the Internet is here to stay. stay the course (or distance) keep going strongly to the end of a race or contest. ∎  pursue a difficult task or activity to the end. a stay of execution a delay in carrying out a court order. stay put (of a person or object) remain somewhere without moving or being moved.PHRASAL VERBS: stay on continue to study, work, or be somewhere after others have left: 75 percent of sixteen-year-olds stay on in full-time education. stay over (of a guest or visitor) sleep somewhere, esp. at someone's home, for the night. stay up not go to bed: they stayed up all night. stay² • n. a large rope, wire, or rod used to support a ship's mast, leading from the masthead to another mast or spar or down to the deck. ∎  a guy or rope supporting a flagpole or other upright pole. ∎  a supporting wire or cable on an aircraft. • v. [tr.] secure or steady (a mast) by means of stays. PHRASES: be in stays (of a sailing ship) be head to the wind while tacking.

STAY

The act of temporarily stopping a judicial proceeding through the order of a court.

A stay is a suspension of a case or a suspension of a particular proceeding within a case. A judge may grant a stay on the motion of a party to the case or issue a stay sua sponte, without the request of a party. Courts will grant a stay in a case when it is necessary to secure the rights of a party.

There are two main types of stays: a stay of execution and a stay of proceedings. A stay of execution postpones the enforcement of a judgment against a litigant who has lost a case, called the judgment debtor. In other words, if a civil litigant wins money damages or some other form of relief, he may not collect the damages or receive the relief if the court issues a stay. Under rule 62 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, every civil judgment is stayed for ten days after it is rendered. An additional stay of execution lasts only for a limited period. It usually is granted when the judgment debtor appeals the case, but a court may grant a stay of execution in any case in which the court feels the stay is necessary to secure or protect the rights of the judgment debtor.

The term stay of execution may also refer to a halt in the execution of a death penalty. This kind of stay of execution normally is granted when a court decides to allow an additional appeal by a condemned prisoner. Such stays of execution may be granted by executives, such as governors or the president of the United States, or by appeals courts.

A stay of proceedings is the stoppage of an entire case or a specific proceeding within a case. This type of stay is issued to postpone a case until a party complies with a court order or procedure. For example, if a party is required to deposit collateral with the court before a case begins, the court may order the proceedings stayed for a certain period of time or until the money or property is delivered to the court. If the party fails to deposit the collateral, the court may cite the party for contempt of court and impose a fine or order incarceration.

A court may stay a proceeding for a number of reasons. One common reason is that another action is under way that may affect the case or the rights of the parties in the case. For instance, assume that a defendant faces lawsuits from the same plaintiffs in two separate cases involving closely related facts. One case is filed in federal court, and the other case is filed in state court. In this situation one of the courts may issue a stay in deference to the other court. The stay enables the defendant to concentrate on one case at a time.

The term stay may also be used to describe any number of legal measures taken by a legislature to provide temporary relief to debtors. For example, under section 362(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor who files for bankruptcy receives an automatic stay immediately upon filing a voluntary bankruptcy petition. Used in this sense, the term stay refers to the right of the debtor to keep creditors at bay during the resolution of the bankruptcy case.

further readings

Hazard, Geoffrey C., Jr., Colin C. Tait, and William A. Fletcher. 1994. Cases and Materials on Pleading and Procedure: State and Federal. 7th ed. Westbury, N.Y.: Foundation Press.

cross-references

Capital Punishment.

stay.
1. A part of the standing rigging of a sailing vessel which supports a mast in the fore-and-aft line, forestays supporting it from forward and backstays from aft. In vessels with more than one mast, they take their names from the one they support.

2. A term used in connection with a ship's anchor cable in relation to the ship. A cable is said to be at short stay when it is taut and leads down to the anchor at a steep angle; it is at long stay when it is taut and leads out to the anchor well away from the ship's bows, entering the water at a less acute angle.

See catenary.
3. As a verb, it is the operation of bringing the head of a sailing vessel up to the wind in order to tack. See also in stays. A mast is also stayed forward when it is inclined forward from the perpendicular.

stay n.
1. a large rope, wire, or rod used to support a ship's mast, leading from the masthead to another mast or spar or down to the deck.

2. a guy or rope supporting a flagpole or other upright pole.

3. a supporting wire or cable on an aircraft.
v. secure or steady (a mast) by means of stays.
be in stays (of a sailing ship) be head to the wind while tacking.

Stay, the order to arrest or suspend a judicial proceeding or the execution of a judgment resulting from that proceeding. Stays may be authorized by statute, the decision of a court, or agreement of the parties.

William M. Wiecek

stay2 support, prop, lit. and fig. XVI; pl. stiffened underbodice XVII. Partly — OF. estaye (mod. étai), partly f. stay vb. support, sustain (XVI) — OF. estayer (mod. étayer), of Gmc. origin (cf. prec.).

stay3 cease moving, remain; cause to cease, stop, check XV. prob. — pres. stem (AN.) estai-, estei- of OF. ester :- L. stāre STAND.

stay1 (naut.) large mast-rope. OE. stæġ, corr. to MLG. staʒh, Du., ON. stag :- Gmc. *staza-.

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