stiffen 
(c) To make more thick or viscous; inspissate: ;is, to 
stiffen paste, (d) To make stubborn or obstinate. 
The man . . . who is settled and stiffened in vice. 
Borrow, Nermons, III. xvi. (Kuci/i-. Met.) 
stiffener (stif ner), , [< stiffen, + -<>*.] One 
who or that which stiffens, (a) Formerly used spe- 
cifically for a piece of stilt material worn inside a stock or 
neckcloth, and also for a similar device worn in leg-of-mut- 
ton sleeves, (b) In bookbinding, a thick paper or thin mill- 
iHiard used by bookbinders as an inner lining to book- 
covers to give them the needed stiffness. 
stiffening (stif'ning), . [Verbal n. o(ntiff<-n, c.] 
1. Something that is used to make a substance 
stiff or less soft, as starch. 2. Something in- 
serted to make a garment, or part of a garment . 
stiff and capable of keeping its shape. See 
buckram, crinoline. 
stiffening-machine (stif 'ning-ma-shen"), . In 
l/(it-m<i l:i in/, an apparatus for applying th e heated 
composition used to harden and stiffen the felt 
of hats. It consists of a vat filled with melted shellac, 
and a pair of rollers for removing the superfluous stiffen- 
ing material after the hat has been dipped in the vat. 
Stiffening-order (stifning-orMer), n. A cus- 
tom-house warrant by which ballast or heavy 
goods may be taken on board before the whole 
inward cargo is discharged, to prevent the ves- 
sel from getting too light. Imp. Diet. 
stiff-hearted (stif 'hiir'ted), . Obstinate ; stub- 
born; contumacious. 
They are impudent children and stif hearted. 
Ezek. ii. 4. 
A dialectal form of xtigtitlc, 
stiffle 1 (stif 1), n. 
stickles. 
stiffle' 2 !, An obsolete form of stifle 2 . 
stiffler (stifler), . [Also stifler; < late ME. 
xtyffeler, a var. of *stightler, whence also stick- 
ler: see stickler, stickle, stiffle, stigli tie. ] If. Same 
as stickler. 
The king intendeth, in eschewing all inconvenients, to 
be as big as they both, and to be a styffeler atween them. 
Pastan Letters, III. 98, quoted in J. Gairdner's Richard 
[III. i. 
The drift was, as I judged, for Dethick to continue such 
stifflers in the College of his pupils, to win him in time by 
hook or crook the master's room. 
Abp. Parker, p. 252. (Davies.) 
2. A busybody. Halliwett (spelled stifler). 
[Prov. Eng.] 
stiffly (stirli), adv. [< ME. stifliclte, stufly, stifli 
(= MD. stijflick); < stiff + -7#2.] In a stiff 
manner, in any sense of the word stiff. 
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, 
But bear me stiffly up. ShaJc., Hamlet, i. 5. 95. 
Pistorius and others stiffly maintain the use of charms, 
words, characters, &c. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 271. 
stiff-neck (stif 'nek), M. Cervical myalgia ; some- 
times, true torticollis. 
Stiff-necked (stif'nekt or -nek"ed), a. Stub- 
born ; inflexibly obstinate ; contumacious : as, 
a stiff-necked people. 
stiff-heckedness (stif 'nekt-nes or -nek"ed-nes), 
n. The property or character of being stiff- 
necked ; stubbornness. 
stiffness (stif'nes), H. [< ME. styfnesse, sti/f- 
nes; < stiff + -ness.'} The state or character of 
being stiff, in any sense. 
stifftail (stif'tal), n. The ruddy duck, Erix- 
matura rubida. See cut under Erittmatura. 
[Local, U. S.] 
Stiff-tailed (stif 'tald), a. Having rigid rectrices 
or tail-feathers denuded to the base ; erismatu- 
riue: specifically noting ducks of the genus 
Erismutura. 
stifle 1 (sti'fl), r. ; pret. and pp. stifled, ppr. sti- 
fling. [Early mod. E. also stifil; < Icel. stifla 
= Norw. stivla, dam up, choke, stop, perhaps 
(like Norw. stivra, stiffen) freq. of Norw. stira 
= Sw. styfca = Dan. stive = ME. stiven, stiffen : 
see ttfoe*, stiff, r. The word was prob. con- 
fused with EV stive 2 , < OF. estivcr, pack tight, 
stive: see sieve."] I. tranx. If. To choke up; 
dam up ; close. 
Make fast the chamber door, stifle the keyhole and the 
crannies. Shirley, Traitor, iii. 1. 
2. To kill by impeding respiration, as by cov- 
ering the mouth and nose, by introducing an 
irrespirable substance into the lungs, or by 
other means ; suffocate or greatly oppress by 
foul air or otherwise; smother. 
Sure, If I had not pinch'd you 'till you wak'd, you had 
utifleil, me with Kisses. Cmujreee, Old Batchelor, ii. 3. 
I took my leave, being half stifled with the closeness of 
the room. Sur(ft, Account of Partridge's Death. 
3. To stop the passage of ; arrest the free ac- 
tion of; extinguish; deaden; quench: as, to 
stifle flame ; to xtifle sound. 
They (colored bodies] stop and stifle in themselves the 
rays, which they do not reflect or transmit. 
Newton, Opticks, I. ii. x. 
she whlsper'd. with a stifled moan. 
Tennymm, Mariana in the South. 
4. To suppress; keep from active manifesta- 
tion; keep from public notice; conceal; re- 
press; destroy: as, to stifle inquiry; to .-,lijlf -,\ 
report; tnslijlf passion; to xtifle convictions. 
A record surreptitiously or erroneously made up, to 
etifle or pervert the truth. Blackstone, Com., III. xxv. 
= Syn. 2. Nutl'iH-nii; xii-angle, etc. See smotlter. 4. To 
huslK muffle, mtlz/le, gag. 
II. iiitnnis. To sulTociilr ; perish by asphyxia. 
You shall stifle in your own report, 
And smell of calumny. Shak., M. for M., ii. 4. 1.1!?. 
Stifle'-' (sti'fl), n. [Formerly also stifle; appar. 
< stiff, dial, stiff: see stiff.] 1. The stifle-joint. 
If the horse bee but hurt in the stifle with some stripe 
or straine. 
Topsell, Four-Footed Beasts (1607), p. 405. (Ualliwell.) 
2. Disease or other affection of the stifle-bone 
or stifle-joint, as dislocation or fracture of the 
patella. 
Stifle-bone (sti'fl-bon), n. The patella of the 
horse; the kneepan, kneecap, or bone of the 
stifle-joint. 
Stifled (sti'fld), a. [Formerly also gtifflcd; < stiflfP 
+ -e<J2.] Affected with stifle. See stifle*, 2. 
The horse is said to be stiffled when the stiffling bone is 
removed from the place. 
Topsell, Four-Footed Beasts (1607), p. 405. (Ualliwell.) 
Stifle-joint (sti'fl-joint), n. The stifle or knee- 
joint of the horse; the joint of the hind leg be- 
tween the hip and the hock, whose convexity 
points forward, which is close to the belly, and 
which corresponds to the human knee. See 
cut under EquMte. 
Stifler (sti'fler), n. [< stifle*, r., + -er^ Milit. 
See camouflet. 
stifle-shoe (sti'fl-sho), . A form of horseshoe 
exposing a curved surface to the ground : used 
in treating a stifled horse. It is fixed on the sound 
foot, with the effect of forcing the animal to throw its 
weight on the weak joint, and thus strengthen it by exer- 
cise. 
stifling (sti'fling),^. a. Close; oppressive; suf- 
focating: as, a stifling atmosphere. 
E'en in the stifling bosom of the town. 
Camper, Task, iv. 753. 
stifling-bonet, Same as stifle-bone. 
stightt, v. [ME. stigten, < AS. stilitan, stihtian 
(for "stiftan), order, rule, govern, = MD. D. 
stichten, found, build, impose a law, = OHG. 
MHG. G. stiffen = Icel. stiptd, stifta, stigta = 
Sw. stifta, stikta = Dan. stifte, found, institute ; 
cf. Icel. stett, foundation, pavement, stepping- 
stone, foot-piece. Hence stigJitle.~\ To found ; 
establish; set. 
The ston that theron was stiff was of so stif vertu 
That neuer man vpon mold migt it him on haue. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4425. 
stightlet, ' [< ME. stiglitlen, xtyghtlen, stighte- 
ten, stigtlen, stygtlen, order, arrange, direct, 
freq. of stighte'n, AS. stilitan, order, rule, gov- 
ern: see stight. Hence mod. E. stickle 3 , stiffle 2 , 
q. v.] I. trans. 1. To order; arrange; dis- 
pose of; take order concerning; govern; di- 
rect. 
That other was his stiward that stif tied al his meyne. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1199. 
II. intraiis. To make arrangements ; treat; 
direct; mediate; stickle. 
When thay com to the courte keppte wern thay fayre, 
Styxtted with the stewarde, stad in the halle. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 90. 
stigma 1 (stig'ma), M.; E. pi. stigmas (stig'maz), 
used chiefly in senses 1, 2, and 6; L. pi. stig- 
mata (stig'ma-ta), used more or less in all the 
senses. [= F. stigma te = Sp. Pg. estigma = It. 
stimate, stigma = G. stigma, < NL. stigma, < L. 
stigma, < Gr. arty/ia, pi. ari-yfiara, a mark, esp. 
of a pointed instrument, a spot, brand, < ari&iv, 
mark (with a point), prick, brand : see stick*.] 
1. A mark made with a red-hot iron, formerly 
in many countries upon criminals as a badge 
of infamy; a brand impressed on slaves and 
others. 
The Devil, however, does not imprint any stiffma upon 
his new vassal, as in the later stories of witch-compacts. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 95. 
2. Any mark of infamy, slur, or disgrace which 
attaches to a person on account of evil conduct. 
Happy is it for him that the blackest stigma that can be 
fastened upon him is that his robes were whiter than his 
brethren's. Bp. Hall, Remains, Pref. 
3. In anat. and goal., a mark; a marked point 
or place : variously applied to marks of color, 
as a spot, and to many different pores or small 
holes. Specifically (a) A birth-mark; a luevus. (6) The 
point or place on the surface of an ovary where a ma- 
Stigmaria 
ture llraatlan follicle rnptmvw. (c) In nrnith., the place 
whfir Ilir rnlyx in' uvisnr oi the n\ :iry ruptures to dis- 
charge an ovum into tin' ovidnrt. Si > raliix, :i (';). (il)l>\ 
'nl"i/i. : (1) The exterior oritl<-e of a trachea; a spiracle. 
Sr<> cuts llmlrr putniinia /-ff, //.Wi -/'//, >/"< i>-l*nt , :nnl .!" /'//'/. 
(2) A chit hums sjiut IT lunik on thr ;uitriiiir mat Kin of the 
[orewtBgiotmuqrliueet^formedb] aipeotalenlirgemBnt 
of a vein; a pterostigma. (f) In nouma, a spot of pig- 
ini'lit ; tin: no-called eye "f :m Infusorial!. (/) In Aiim-H- 
da, one of tin- pores or openings of the segniental organs. 
(y) In lliiilniziM, the pore by which a pin uniaio, \st oprn- 
to the exterior. Sr<- rut under Hiiitrozntt. (h) In I'haryn- 
V"/<//<'f>M, ;iH an ascidian, one of the ciliated openings by 
which the cavity of the pharynx is placed in c-onimunica- 
tion witli that of the atria! canal. .See cuts under Appen- 
dicularia and Tunicata. 
4. A place or point on tin- skin which bleeds 
periodically or at irregular intervals during 
some mental states. The spontaneous appear- 
ance of stigmata was formerly regarded super- 
stitiously. 5. /)/. In the Itoui. t'atli. Cli., marks 
said to have been supernaturally impressed 
upon the bodies of certain persons in imitation 
of the wounds on the crucified body of Christ. 
In the life of St. Francis of Assisi we have the first ex- 
ample of the alleged miraculous infliction of stigmata. 
Eneyc. Brit., XXII. 549. 
6. In hot., a modified part of the style or, when 
that is wanting, of the surface of the ovary, 
which in impregnation receives the pollen. In 
Stigmas. J 
I. Of Cynodon Dactylon. 2. Of Vitis Labrus ca. 3. Of Papavtr 
Argemont. 4. Of (iordenia fvbescens. 5. Of Tilia Americana. 
6. Of Silent Pennsylvania. }. Of Tribulus cistoides. B. Of Ditman 
muscipula. o. Otl.innm Virginianum. 10. f >f Farietaria offici- 
nalis. n. OtKnmex ot>tusffolins. 
the latter case the stigma is said to be sessile, as in the 
poppy and the tulip. When the style is present, the stig- 
ma may be terminal, occupying its summit, as in the plum 
and cherry, or lateral, running down its face in one or 
two lines, as in llanutuulvs. Its form and appearance are 
very various. In many plants there is only one stigma, 
while in others there are two, three, five, or many, ac- 
cording to the number of styles or style-branches. The 
stigma is composed of delicate cellular tissue ; its sur- 
face is destitute of true epidermis, and is usually moist 
See pistil (with cut) and pollen-tube. 
stigma' 2 (stig'ma), . [Gr. ariy/ja, the ligature 
r, an altered form, to bring in or, of ofy/ia or 
oly/ui, the letter a, f. sigma: see sigmn. The 
ligature was also called <m.] In Gr. gram, and 
paleog., a ligature (r) still sometimes used for 
err (st), and also used as a numeral (6). 
stigma-disk (stig' ma-disk), w. In bot., a disk 
forming the seat of a stigma, sometimes pro- 
duced by the fusion of two or more style-apices, 
as in Asclepias. 
stigmal (stig'mal), a. [< stigma* + -/.] Of 
or pertaining to a stigma ; stigmatic. Specifically 
applied in entomology to a vein of the wings of some in- 
sects, whose modification makes a stigma (pterostigma). 
Stigmaria (stig-ma'ri-a), . [NL., < L. stig- 
ma, a mark (see stigma*), + -aria.'] A former 
genus of fossil plants, very abundant in many 
regions in the coal-measures, and especially 
in the under-clay, or clayey material (often 
mixed with more or less sand) by which most 
seams of coal are underlain; also [I. c.], a 
plant of this genus. These plants are cylindrical 
root-like bodies, usually starting from a center in four 
main branches, and afterward Wfurcating irregularly, 
and extending sometimes to great distances. The bod- 
ies are covered with small round depressions or scars 
arranged in lozenge-shaped patterns, and each the point 
of attachment of a ribbon-shaped filament or rootlet In 
some cases the stigmarias have been found attached to 
trunks of Kiffillaria, in such a position as would naturally 
be occupied by the roots with reference to the stem of the 
plant or tree; hence they have been admitted by most 
paleobotanists to he In fact the roots of the widely illstriti- 
