stay-rod 
ing, etc.. which prevents the spreading asunder 
of the parts connected. 
staysail (sta'sal or -si), . Any sail which 
hoists upon a stay. See staij^, 1. 
Stay-tackle (sta'tak"!), n. A tackle hanging 
amidships for hoisting in or out heavy weights, 
and formerly secured to the forestay or main- 
stay, but now generally attached to a pendant 
from the topmast-head. 
stay-wedge (sta'wej), n. In locomotives, a 
wedge fitted to the inside bearings of the driv- 
ing-axles to keep them in their proper position. 
S. T. D. An abbreviation of the Latin finrnr 
or Saerosanctx Theologies Doctor, Doctor of Sa- 
cred Theology. 
Stead (sted), w. [Early mod. E. alsosterf; < ME. 
sted, stid, stud, stedc, stude, < (a) AS. stede = OS. 
stad = OFries. sted, stid, stetlt, steifh = MD. 
stede, stad, D. stede, stet = MHG. stede-= OHG. 
MHG. stat, G. statt = Icel. stadha = Sw. stad 
= Dan. sted = Goth, ntittlix, place; (6) also, in 
a restricted sense and now partly differentiated 
spelling, MD. stede, stad, D. stad = MHG. stat, 
G. stadt = Sw. Dan. stad (< D. or G. f ), a town, 
city (esp. common as the final element in names 
of towns) ; (c) cf. MD. stade, staede, fit time, 
opportunity, = OHG. stata, f., MHG. state (esp. 
in phrase, OHG. zi statu, MHG. ze staten, G. 
3u statten), fit place or time; (d) AS. stseth = 
Icel. stodh, port, harbor, etc. (see stathe) all 
these forms, which have been more or less con- 
fused with one another, being derived from 
the root of stand, in its more orig. form (OHG. 
MHG. stdn, sten, G. stehen, etc.) : see stand, state. 
Cf. bedstead, farmstead, homestead, roadstead, 
etc., instead.' Cf. L. statio(n-), a standing, 
station (see station), Gr. ardaif, a placing (see 
stasis), from the same ult. root. The phrase 
in stead, now written as one word, instead, ex- 
cept when a qualifying word intervenes, was 
in ME. tn stede, in stide, on stede, or in the stede, 
etc. The mod. dial. pron. instid, often apheti- 
eally stid, rests on the ME. variant stid, stide.'] 
It. A place ; place in general. 
I leue the saying and gyfe stede to hym. 
Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 19. 
Every kyndly thing that is 
Hath a kyndly sted ther he 
May best in hit conserved be. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 731. 
Fly therefore, fly this fearefull stead anon. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. iv. 42. 
The sonldier may not move from watchful! sted. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. in. 41. 
2. Place or room which another had or might 
have : preceded by in : as, David died, and 
Solomon reigned in his stead. Hence instead. 
And everyche of hem bringethe a Braunche of the Bayes 
or of Olyve, in here Bekes, in gtede of Offryng. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 59. 
I buried her like my own sweet child, 
And put my child in her stead. 
Tennyson, Lady Clare. 
3f. Space of time ; while ; moment. 
Rest a little stead. Spenser, F. Q., VI. vii. 40. 
4. The frame on which a bed is laid: now 
rarely used except in the compound bedstead. 
But in the gloomy court was rais'd a bed, 
Stufl'd with black plumes, and on an ebon stead. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., x. 293. 
5t. A steading. 6f. Position or situation of 
affairs; state; condition; plight. 
She was my solas, my ioy in ech stede, 
My plesaunce, my comfort, my delite to ! 
Ram. ofPartenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2886. 
He staggered to and fro in doubtful! sted. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. xii. 23. 
7. Assistance ; service ; use ; benefit ; advan- 
tage; avail: usually in the phrases to stand in 
stead, to do stead (to render service). 
Here our dogs pottage stood vs in good strati, for we had 
nothing els. Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 90. 
The Duke of Savoy felt that the time had at last arrived 
when an adroit diplomacy might stand him in stead. 
Motley, Dutch Republic, I. 200. 
A devil's advocate may indeed urge that his [Thiers's] 
egotism and almost gasconading temperament stood him 
in stead in the trying circumstances of his negotiations 
with the powers and with Prince Bismarck but this is 
not really to his discredit. Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 305. 
Stead oft, instead of. Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furni- 
vall), p. 48. To do Stead, to do service; help. Milton, 
Comus,1.611. [Rare.] To stand In stead, Seestand. 
[Stead occurs as the second element in many topographi- 
cal names, as Hampstead, Vfinsted.] 
Stead (sted), c. [< ME. steden (pp. steded, stedd, 
sted, stad) = Icel. stedhja, place (pp. staddr. 
placed in a specified position, circumstanced, 
etc.); from the noun.] I. trans. If. To place; 
put; set. 
5918 
Lordc God ! that all goode has by-gonne, 
And all may ende both goode and euyll, 
That made for man both mone and sonne, 
And stedde yone sterne to stande stone stille. 
York Plays, p. 127. 
2f. To place or put in a position of danger, 
difficulty, hardship, or the like; press; bestead. 
The bargayne I made thare, 
That rewes me nowe full sare, 
So am I straytcly sted. York J'lays, p. 103. 
father, we are cruelly sttd between God's laws and 
man's laws What shall we do ? What can we do V 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, \ix. 
3f. With up : to replace ; fill. 
We shall advise this wronged maid to stead up your ap- 
pointment, go in your place. Shale., M. for M., iii. 1. 200. 
4. To avail; assist; benefit; serve; be of ser- 
vice, advantage, or use to. 
We are ... neither in skill nor ability of power greatly 
to stead you. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
In my dealing with my child, my Latin and Greek, my 
accomplishments and my money, ftead me nothing ; but 
as much soul as I have avails. Emerson, The Over-Soul. 
Il.t intrans. To stop; stay. 
I shalle not sted 
Tille I have theym theder led. 
Toumeley Mysteries, p. 6. 
Steadablet (sted'a-bl), . [< stead + -able.] 
Serviceable. 
1 have succoured and supplied him with men, money, 
friendship, and counsel, upon any occasion wherein I 
could be steadable for the improvement of his good. 
Uryuhart, tr. of Rabelais, i. 28. (Danes.) 
steadfast, stedfast (sted'fast), a. [< ME. sted- 
fagt, stedefast, stidefast, stedevest, studevest, < 
AS. stedeffest (= MD. stedevast = Icel. stath- 
fastr), firm in its place (cf. Sw. stadfdsta = 
Dan. stadfseste, confirm, ratify), < stede, place, 
stead, + fsest, fast.] 1. Finn; firmly fixed or 
established in place or position. 
" Yes, yes," quod he, "this is the case, 
Your lee is euer stedfast in on place." 
OenerydetCE. E. T. 8.), 1. 2772. 
Ye fleeting streams last long, outliving many a day ; 
But on more stedfast things Time makes the strongest 
prey. Drayton, Polyolbion, IL 148. 
2. Firm; unyielding; unwavering; constant; 
resolute. 
Heavenly grace doth him uphold, 
And stedfast truth acquite him out of all. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vlil. 1. 
Stedfast in the faith. 1 Pet. v 9. 
Through all his I Warren Hastings's] disasters and perils, 
his brethren stood by him with steadfast loyalty. 
Macattlay, Warren Hastings. 
3. Steady; unwavering; concentered. 
He loked fast on to hym in stedefast wise, 
And thought alway his sonne that he shuld be. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 414. 
The homely villain court'sies to her low ; 
And, blushing on her, with a steadfast eye 
Receives the scroll without or yea or no. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 1339. 
= Syn. 2. Stanch, stable, unflinching. 
steadfastly, stedfastly (sted'fast-li), adv. [< 
ME. xtedfastly, stedefsestiice; < steadfast + -fy 2 .] 
In a steadfast manner, (a) Steadily; firmly; confi- 
dently ; resolutely. 
Hesiod maketh him [Orion] the sonne of Neptune and 
Euriale ; to whom his father gaue that vertue, to walk as 
stedfastly vpon the sea as the land. 
Heywood, Hierarchy of Angels, p. 177. 
(b) Steadily ; fixedly ; intently. 
Look on me stedfastly, and, whatsoe'er I say to you, 
Move not, nor alter in your face. 
Fletcher, Wildgoose Chose, iv. 2. 
(c) Assuredly; certainly. 
Your woful mooder wende stedfastly 
That cruel houndes or som foul vermyne 
Hadde eten yow. Chaueer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 1038. 
steadfastness, stedfastness (sted'fast-nes), . 
[< ME. stedfastnesse. stedefastnesse, stidefast- 
nesse; < steadfast + -ness.'] 1. Firmness; 
strength. 
Ryht softe as the marye [marrow] is, that is alwey hidd 
in the f eete al withinne, and that is defendid fro withowte 
by the stidefantnesse of wode. 
t'hnnn'r, Boethius, ill. prose 11. 
2. Stability and firmness ; fixedness in place 
or position. 
Forward did the mighty waters press, 
As though they loved the green earth's steadfastness. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. ITS. 
3. Stability of mind or purpose ; resolution ; 
constancy ; faithfulness ; endurance. 
What coude a sturdy housbond more devyse 
To preve hir wyfhod and hir stedfnstnesse? 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 643. 
steadier (sted'i-er), . One who or that which 
steadies: as, he uses his cane for a steadier. 
Steadily (sted'i-li), adv. In a steady manner; 
firmly; fixedly; steadfastly; intently; without 
steak 
wavering or flinching; without intermission, 
deviation, or irregularity; uniformly. 
steadiness (sted'i-nes), n. Steady character. 
quality, or condition, (a) Firmness in position; sta- 
bility: as, the steadiness of a rock. (6) Freedom from 
tottering, swaying, or staggering motion : as, he walked 
with great steadiness; freedom from jolting, rolling, 
pitching, or other irregular motion ; as, the steadiness of 
the great ocean steamers, (c) Freedom from irregularity 
of any kind ; uniformity : as, prices increased with great 
xti-ailiitem. (d) Firmness of mind or purpose ; constancy ; 
resolution : as, steadiness in the pursuit of an object, (e) 
Fortitude ; endurance ; staying power. 
Steading (sted'ing), n. [< stead + -iwi/ 1 .] A 
farm-house and offices that is, barns, stables, 
cattle-sheds, etc.; a farmstead; a homestead. 
[North. Eng. and Scotch.] 
steady 1 (sted'i). a. and . [Early mod. E. also 
stedy, steddy; < ME. stede, stedi. stidig, < AS. 
stseththiff (also 'stsedig, "stedig. Lye) (= Icel. 
stothugr = Sw. Dan. stadig), steady, stable, < 
sixth, stead, bank: see stathe. Cf. MD. steilit/// 
= OHG. stati, MHG. stxte, stsetec(g), G. stdtig, 
stetig, continual, < statt, etc., a place : see stead, 
to which steady is now referred.] I. a. 1. 
Firmly fixed in place or position ; unmoved. 
The knight gan fayrely cguch his steady speare. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. xi. 16. 
And how the dull Earth's prop-less massie Ball 
Stands steddy still, iust in the midst of All. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, 1. 7. 
2. Firm or unfaltering in action ; resolute : as, 
a steady stroke ; a steady purpose. 
All the Foot now dis-embark't, and got together In som 
order on firm ground, with a more steddy charge put the 
Britans to flight. Milton, Hist Eng., ii. 
With steady step he held his way 
O'er shadowy vale and gleaming height. 
Bryant, Two Travellers. 
In this sense much used elliptically in command, for 'keep' 
or ' hold steady ' : (a) Xnvt., an order to the helmsman to 
keep the ship straight on her course. (&) In hunting, an 
order to a dog to be wary and careful. 
3. Free from irregularity or unevenness, or 
from tendency to irregular motion ; regular ; 
constant ; und'eviating ; uniform : as, steady mo- 
tion ; a steady light ; a steady course ; a steady 
breeze; a steady gait. 4. Constant in mind, 
purpose, or pursuit ; not fickle, changeable, or 
wavering ; not easily moved or persuaded to re- 
linquish a purpose : as, to be steady in the pur- 
suit of an object ; steady conduct. 
A clear sight keeps the understanding steady. Locke. 
To keep us steady in our conduct, he hath fortified us 
with natural laws and principles, which are preventive 
of many aberrations. Kames, Elem. of Crit., I. x. 
Hence 5. Sober; industrious; persevering: 
as, a steady workman steady motion, a motion of 
a fluid such that the velocity at each point remains con- 
stant In magnitude and direction. Steady pin. See 
pinl. 
H. . 1. In maeh., some device for steady- 
ing or holding a piece of work. Specifically, in 
button- manuf., a hand-support for a button-blank, upon 
which, used in conjunction with another implement called 
a ffrip, the blank is held between the alined rotating spin* 
dies carrying cutters for shaping it into the required form. 
2. In stone-cutting, a support for blocking up 
a stone to be dressed, cut, or broken. 3. 
Same as stadda. 
steady 1 (sted'i), v. ; pret. and pp. steadied, ppr. 
steadying, [(.steadyt.a.] I. trans. 1. To make 
steady; hold or keep from shaking, staggering, 
swaying, reeling, or falling; support; make or 
keep firm : as, to steady the hand. 
Thus steadied, it [the house-martin] works and plasters 
the materials into the face of the brick or stone. 
Gilbert White, Nat. Hist. Selborne, To D. Barrington, xvL 
Hence 2. To make regular and persevering 
in character and conduct: as, trouble and dis- 
appointment had steadied him. 
II. intrans. To become steady; regain or 
maintain an upright or stable position or con- 
dition; move steadily. 
She steadies with upright keel ! 
Coleridge, Ancient Mariner, iii. 
steady 2 (sted'i), . A dialectal form of stithy. 
Job saith, Stetit cor ejus sicut incus : His heart stood 
as a steady. Bp. Jewell, Works, I. 523. (Dames.) 
steady-going (sted'i-go'ing), a. Of steady 
habits; consistently uniform and regular in 
action ; that steadily pursues a reasonable and 
consistent way: as, a steady-going fellow. 
Sir George Burns appears to have been too steadygoing 
through the whole of his long life for it to be marked by 
any of the exciting incidents that make the charm of 
biography. Athenaeum, No. 3287, p. 545. 
steady-rest (sted'i-rest), . Same as back-rest. 
steak (stak), ii. [< ME. steike, steyke, < Icel. 
steik, a steak, = Sw. stek = Dan. steg, roast 
meat, < Icel. steikja (= Sw. steka = Dan. stege), 
roast on a spit (cf. stikna, be roasted or 
