stale

views updated Jun 08 2018

stale1 / stāl/ • adj. (stal·er, stal·est) (of food) no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry: stale bread. ∎  no longer new and interesting or exciting: their marriage had gone stale. ∎  (of a person) no longer able to perform well or creatively because of having done something for too long: a top executive tends to get stale. ∎  (of a check or legal claim) invalid because out of date.• v. make or become stale.DERIVATIVES: stale·ly / ˈstā(l)lē/ adv.stale·ness n.stale2 • v. [intr.] (of an animal, esp. a horse) urinate.

stale

views updated May 18 2018

stale1 †(of liquor) that has stood long enough to clear, (hence) old and strong XIII; that has lost its freshness XVI. prob. — AN., OF. *estale (mod. étale, naut. of stationary water), f. estaler come to a stand, STALL1
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stale

views updated May 11 2018

stale2 urinate, esp. of horses. XV. perh. — OF. estaler take up a position (see next), in spec. sense
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Stale

views updated May 17 2018

Stale

a body of armed men posted for ambush.

Examples : stale of hunters, 1425; of armed men, 1350.

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