stake 
5891 
stale 
llyes (Fran( ., g Potter) 
Ute. 
stalagmitic (stal-ag-mit'ik), <i. [< s/rilni/iiiili 
+ -ic.] Composed of stalagmite, or having its 
character. 
'twas pitty that such a delicate inventive witt should stake-hook (stilk'huk), n. On a railway plat- stalactitiform (sta-lak'tl-ti-form), a. 
l>e staked in an obscure corner. form-car, a hook, loop, or clevis on the side of xlnluctitrM + L. forma, form.] Same as stalac- 
the bed, to receive an upright stake. liform. 
Stake-iron (stakT'ern), n. The metallic strap stalagmite (stij-lag'mit), . [< F. stalagmite, 
purely to the drudgery of the law. or armature of a railway- or wagon-stake. < (Jr. ara'/.ajftof, dropping or dripping, mAayjia, 
Roger North, Lord Guilford, I. 15. (Daviet.) stake-net (stak'net), H. A kind of fishing-net . that which drops, < OTaMfttv, drop, let fall drop 
2. To support with stakes ; provide with sup- consisting of netting vertically hung on stakes by drop: see stalactic.] Carbonate of lime de- 
porting stakes or poles: as, to stake vines. driven into the ground, usually with special con- posited on the floor of a cavern. Sec stalac- 
3. To defend, barricade, or bar with stakes or trivances for entrapping or securing the tish. 
piles. See r/ill->iet, and cut under ]>nioitl-in t. 
Then caus'tl his ships the river up to stalce, Stake-netter (stak'net "er), n. One who uses 
That none with victual should the town relieve a stake-net or pound ; a pounder. 
Drayton, Battle of Agmcourt, st. 89. stake . pocket ( st ak'poket), . A socket of stalagmitical (stal-ag-mit'i-kal), . [< 
4. To divide or lay off and mark with stakes cast-iron fixed to the side of the bed of a flat mitic + -/.] Stulagmitic in character or for- 
or posts: with out or off: as, to stake off a site or platform-car to receive the end of a stake. mation. 
for a school-house ; to stake out oyster-beds. stake-puller (stiik'pul"er) ; n. A machine, con- stalagmitically (stal-ag-mit'i-kal-i), adv. In 
The modest Northerners who have got hold of it sisting of a hinged lever with a gripping device, the form or manner of stalagmite. 
for pulling stakes or posts from the ground; a stalagmometer (stal-ag-mom'e-ter), n. [< Gr. 
post-puller. ora'Adi/ioc, a dropping or dripping (see ftalag- 
StakerH, . i. A Middle English spelling of mite), + ucrpov, a measure.] Same as stac- 
stacker*. tometer. 
number of very precious monuments in" a surprisingly staker 2 (sta'kcr), n. [< stake 2 + -er*.] One staldert (stal'der), n. [Prob. < Icel. stallr, a 
short space of time, but he left the ground chronologically wno stakes money, or makes a wager or bet. stall, pedestal, shelf, = Dan. staid, a stall: see 
The Centura, XXXIX. 333. gtake . rest ( st ak'rest), n. On a railway plat- stall*.] A wooden frame to set casks on. 
5. To stretch, scrape, and smooth (skins) by form-car, a device for supporting a stake when stale 1 (stal), n. [Sc. also staill, steill, stall; < 
friction against the blunt edge of a semicir- turned down horizontally. ME. stale, theft, a trap, < AS. stalu, theft (in 
cular knife fixed to the top of a short beam or stakket, and v. An old spelling of stack. comp. steel-, as in stxl-hrdn, a decoy reindeer, 
post set upright. stakkert, . An obsolete spelling of stacker*, steelgeest, ajhievish guest, stasUiere, a predatory 
The [calf-]skins ... are staked by drawing them to gtaktometer, . See stactomcter. 
and fro over a blunt knife fixed on the top of a post. f , . nbwilnta nrptprit of ttfal* 
Workshop Receipt*, 2dser., p. 367. Sjait. An Ol T.l>-. 
. . . ,-, x r CT^ i i i * Stalactic (sta-lak tik), a. \\ (jr. oraAftKTiKoc., 
Stakes (8 tak), n. [= MD. staeck, a stake for d "i Dipping, < mJuJr*, verbal adj. of 
which one plays; a particular use of stake, a gT J^^ > *&$%, ar a ).a v , drop, drip, let fall 
stake, pole, appar. as 'that which is fixed or d b d ' %> y^^^f^^ of aTa . 
put up': see stake*, sticW.] 1 That which is f v f dr L i e t fall by drops.] Pertaining to or 
placed at hazard as a wager; the sum of money esemblmg stalactite or a stalactite; italac- 
or other valuable consideration which is depos- tiMc 
ited as a pledge or wager to be lost or won ac- stalactical (sta-lak'ti-kal), a. [< stalactic + 
cording to the issue of a contest or contingency. "^ ? Same i ' 
[Florida), and staked it all out into city lots, seem to want 
to keep it all to themselves. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 4!>. 
When, therefore, M. Naville disbanded his men at the 
close of the fourth week, he had not only found a large 
This sparry, stalactical substance. 
And manage wisely the last Stake. Derham, Physico-Theology, iit. 1. 
Cowley, Anacreontics, v. stalactiform (sta-lak'ti-form), a. [< stalact(ite) 
Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones. + L. forma, form.] Having the form of a sta- 
Byron, Age of Bronze, iii. lac tite ; like stalactite ; stalactical. 
2. The prize in a contest of strength, skill, stalactite (sta-lak'tit), n. [= F. stalactite, < 
speed, or the like. NL. stalactites', < Gr. arafaicrof, dropping, oozing 
From the king's hand must Douglas take out in drops: see stalactic.] 1. A deposit of 
A silver dart, the archer's stake carbonate of lime, usually resembling in form 
i,cott, L. of :L.,v. 2-. a huge icicle, which hangs from the roof of a 
3. An interest; something to gam or lose. *- ' 
Both had the air of men pretending to aristocracy an 
old world air of respectability and stake in the country, 
and Church-and-Stateism. Bulwer, My Novel, xi. 2. 
4. The state of being laid or pledged as a wa- 
ger ; the state of being at hazard or in peril : pre- 
ceded by at: as, his honor is at stake. 
Now begins the Game of Faction to be play'd, wherein 
the whole State of Queen Elizabeth lies at stake. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 329. 
I have more than Life at Stake on your Fidelity. 
Steele, Conscious Lovers, ii. 1. 
5. The see or jurisdiction of a Mormon bishop. 
[A forced use.] 
Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any 
of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not, . . . 
the sin be upon the heads of the parents. 
Doctrine and Covenants, Ixviii. 25. 
Maiden stakes. See maiden. The Oaks stakes. See 
cave or subterranean rock-opening, where it 
has been slowly formed by deposition from 
calcareous water trickling downward through 
cracks or openings in the rocks above. Water 
containing carbonic acid in solution, which it has gained 
in filtering through the overiying soil, has the power of 
dissolving carbonate of lime, which it deposits again upon 
evaporation ; stalactites are hence common in regions of 
limestone rocks. They are sometimes white, and nearly 
transparent, showing the broad cleavage-surfaces of the 
calcite, as those of the cave near Matanzas in Cuba ; but 
commonly they have a granular structure with concentric 
bands of pale-yellow to brown colors. In some caverns 
the stalactites are very numerous and large, and of great 
beauty in their endless variety of form, especially in con- 
nection with the stalagmites, the corresponding deposi- 
tions accumulated beneath the stalactites upon the floor 
of the caverns. The caves of Adelsberg in Carniola and 
of Luray in Virginia are among the most celebrated for the 
beauty of their stalactites. 
The grotto is perfectly dry, and there are no petriflca- Stale 2 (stal), n. [Also stail; also, with a pron. 
. .. *^ . ., J * -, . . ..- . H'. ...... t ntnnl <-> -i>n 1 tr n-tfifil BAw]* HAJ-1 f 
army) (= D. "stal, in dief-stal, theft, = G. 'stalil, 
in dieb-stahl, theft), < stelan (pret. stxl), steal: 
see steal*. Cf. stalk*.] 1+. Theft; stealing; 
pilfering. 
Ine these heste is uorbode roberie, thiefthe, stale and 
gauel, and bargayn wyth othren. 
Ayenbite of Imcyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 9. 
2f. Stealth; stealthy movement. Old Eng. 
Homilies, I. 249. 3t. Concealment; ambush. 
He stode in a stale to lie in waite for the relefe that 
myght come from Calleis. Hall, Chron., Hen. IV., an. 12. 
4t. A trap, gin, or snare. 
Still as he went he crafty stales did lay, 
With cunning traynes him to entrap unwares. 
Spenser, F. Q , II. i. 4. 
5f. An allurement; a bait; a decoy; a stool- 
pigeon : as, a stale for a foist or pickpocket. 
Her ivory front, her pretty chin. 
Were stales that drew me on to sin. 
Greene, Penitent Palmer's Ode. 
Why, thou wert but the bait to fish with, not 
The prey ; the stale to catch another bird with. 
Beau, and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, ii. 2. 
They [the Bishops] suff er'd themselvs to be the common 
stales to countenance with their prostituted Gravities 
every Politick Fetch that was then on foot. 
Milton, Reformation in Eng., i. 
6. An object of deception, scorn, derision, mer- 
riment, ridicule, or the like ; a dupe ; a laugh- 
ing-stock. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
You have another mistresse, go to her, 
I wil not be her stale. 
The Shepheards Holyday, sig. G. i. (Halliwell.) 
I pray you, sir, is it your will 
To make a stale of me amongst these mates? 
Shak., T. of the S., i. 1. 68. 
A subject fit 
To be the stale of laughter ! 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, ii. 1. 
. 
Stake' 2 (stak), v. t.; pret. and pp. staked, ppr. 
staking. [< stake 2 , n.] To wager ; put at haz- 
ard or risk upon a future contingency ; venture. 
"Tis against all Rule of Play that I should lose to one 
who has not wherewithal to stake. 
Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 18. 
Like an inspired and desperate alchemist, 
Staking his very life on some dark hope. 
Shelley, Alastor. 
Stake 3 t, A Middle English form of stack. 
Stake 4 (stak), . The ling. [Prov. Eng.] 
Stake-boat (stak'bot), n. A moored boat used 
to mark the end of a course or a turning-point 
in a regatta or boat-race. 
Each boat to go fairly round the stake-boats or mark- 
buoys without touching the same. 
Qualtrough, Boat Sailer's Manual, p. 141. 
Stake-driver (stak'dri"ver), n. The American 
bittern, Botaurus mugitans or lentitjinosus: so 
called from its cry, which is likened to driving 
a stake into the ground with a mallet. Also stalactitic (stal-ak- 
pile-driver, pump-thunder, thunder-pumper, etc. tit'ik), a. [< sta- 
Stake-head (stak'hed), n. In rope-making, one lactite + -ic.~\ 
of several cross-bars set on stakes, used in a 
rope-walk to support the cords while twisting. 
stake-holder (stak'hol'der), . 1. One who 
tions or stalactites in it. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 41. 
now different, steal, rarely steel, early mod. E. 
stele ; < ME. stale, stele, < AS. stxl, stel, stalk, stem, 
A vwuvMV) wwuk^gnHim "* v"^ jji*uv, .... . tttVfVj N 1U.J-J. atutVf own j \f\.t~jt ot/eci-* oiofj niiaiA f OUCLUJ 
2. A similar form of some other mineral spe- = MD. stele, steel, stael, D. steel, stalk, stem, han- 
cies, such as are occasionally observed, for ex- 
ample, of chalcedony, limonite, etc., but only 
sparingly and on a small scale. 3. A like 
form of lava sometimes observed in connection 
die, = MLG. stcl, stel, a stalk, handle, LG. stale, 
a round of a ladder, = OHG. MHG. stil, G. stiel, 
a handle, broomstick, stalk ; cf . L. stilus, a stake, 
pale, pointed instrument, stalk, stem, etc. (see 
Stalactitic Sm 
lactite + -ic.~\ Con- 
taining stalactites; 
having the form of 
iu<*A.t;-ijifiu.*;A v .. *.- ~-,, ... .. stalactites: as, in 
holds the stakes, or with whom the bets are mineralogy, the stalactitic structure of limonite, 
deposited when a wager is laid. 2. In law, chalcedony, and other species, 
one holding a fund which two or more claim stalactitical (stal-ak-tit'i-kal), a. [< stalactitic 
adversely to each other. + -al.~\ Same as stalactitic. 
with volcanic outflows. Lava stalactites have been style 2 ); Gr. are>.e6v, oTe&ei6v, a handle or helve 
* o f an ax, araAic, arffiq, an upright or standing 
slab (see stele 3 ) ; akin to oreA/.eiv, set, place, 
and ult. to stall* and still*, from the root of 
stand: see stand. Hence stalk*.] If. A stalk; 
stem. 
Weede hem wel, so wol thai wex(en) fele. 
But forto hede hem greet trede downe the stele. 
Palladms, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 209. 
The stalke or steale thereof [of barley] is smaller than 
the wheat stalk, taller and stronger. 
B. Gouge's Herenbachius, fol. 28. 
2. The stem of an arrow. 
A shaft [in archery] hath three principal parts, the stele, 
the feathers, and the head. ' 
Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. 1864), p. 117. 
3. A handle ; especially, a long handle, as that 
of a rake, ladle, etc. [Prov. Eng.] 
A ladel bygge with a long stele. 
Piers Plmeman (C), xxii. 279. 
noted hanging from the roofs of lava caverns in the crater 
of Kilauea in Hawaii ; and slender forms of a nearly uni- 
form diameter of one fourth of an inch, and from a few 
inches to 20 or 80 inches in length, ornament the roofs of 
caverns in the lava stream which descended from Mauna 
Loa in the same island in 1881. Stalagmites of lava rise 
from the lava floor beneath. 
Stalactited (sta-lak'ti-ted), a. [< stalactite + 
-ed?.] Covered with stalactites ; also, formed 
in more or less sem- 
blance of stalac- 
tites. - Stalactited 
work. See rustic work, 
under rustic. 
"Thereof," quod Absolon, "be as be may," . . . 
And caughte the kultour by the colde stele. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale,!. 599. 
4f. A round or rung of a ladder ; a step. 
