stump 
sound which seems to be suddenly cut off or 
stopped ; a thud. [Rare.] 
Far up the valley the distant stump of ; a musket shot 
reaches our ears. The Century, XXXVIII. 399. 
11. A challenge or defiance to do something 
considered impracticable, very difficult, or very 
daring that is, something to stump the person 
attempting it. [Colloq., U. S.] 
The reason for this little freak was a stump on the part 
of some musicians, because ... it was not supposed he 
could handle a baton. He did it. 
Elect. Ren. (Amer.), XIV. 4. 
12. In fiitoai., a very short vein or nervure of 
the wing, arising from another vein, and sud- 
denly ending without emitting branches. 13. 
COOS 
Stump it, my cove ; that 's a Bow-street runner. 
Bulwer, Night and Morning, n. !. 
(b) To travel about making stump speeches. [Colloq.] 
stumpage (stum'paj), . [<xtiti/>+ -.</] 1. 
Standing timber; timber-trees collectively, as 
in a particular tract of forest, with reference 
to their value for cutting or stumping, inde- 
pendently of that of the land. [U. S.] 
No forest lands are to be sold, but the stumpage on them 
may be disposed of in the discretion of the commissioner 
of forests. Sei. Amer., N. S., LVIII. 98. 
2. A tax levied in some of the United States on 
the amount and value of timber cut for corn- 
One 
, . [< stump 
wh f c h stumps, in any sense. 
, 
stump, stumped ; nonplussed; "up a tree. 
e 
add that the question was a stumper to the good bishop. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., XI. 117. 
stuntness 
4. To strike with astonishment; astound; 
amaze. 
At the sight, therefore, of this River the Pilgrims were 
much ntunned. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, i. 
The multitude, unacquainted with the best models, are 
captivated by whatever stuns and dazzles them. 
Macaulay, Madame D'Arblay. 
Stun 1 (stun), n. [< xtunl, r. Cf. xtotincft.~\ A 
stroke; a shock; a stupefying blow, whether 
physical or mental ; a stunning effect. 
With such a stun 
Came the amazement that, absorb'd in it, 
He saw not fiercer wonders. Keats, Endymion, ii. 
The electrical stun is a stun too quickly applied to be 
painful. Sei. Amer., N. S., LXIII. 200. 
stun' 2 (stun), n. [Origin obscure.] In marble- 
working, one of the deep marks made by coarse 
particles of sand getting between the saw-blade 
and the saw-kerf. 0. Byrne. 
>. See . 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 127. 
2. Of or pertaining to the stump in the politi- 
cal sense : as, a stump speech or speaker ; stump 
eloquence. 
The florid eloquence of his [Lincoln's] stump speeches. 
The Century, XXXIX. 675. 
Stunustungk). Preterit and past participle 
strong four-wheel carriages bearing a screw, toggle-joint, of stink. 
tackle, or windlass operated by hand- or horse-power. Also stunner (stun'er), n. [< *fMM + -r 1 .] 
to form a stump after every such interpenetration. 
Stump (stump), r. [Also stomp; < stump, n.] I. rest against each other when m line, and per- 
trans. 1 To truncate ; lop ; reduce to a stump, mit movement in but one direction , as the joint 
Around the stumped top soft mosse did grow. of the common carpenters' rule. See cut under 
Dr. H. More, Psychozoia, ii. 59. rule-joint. 
foot or toes, against something fixed; stub: as, 
to stumt) one's toe against a stone. [Colloq.] 
3. To bring to a halt by obstacle or impedi- stumpy tau; Dootanea; cunai 
mmit- block the course of- stall- foil- of Stump-tree (stump'tre), n. The Kentucky 
American orig "from The obstruct^n to Vehi- coffettree ^moda^ Canad*,*,: so called 
cleg offered by stumps left in a cleared tract from its lack of small branches. See cut under 
Gymnocladus. Fallows. 
stumpy (stum'pi), a. [< stump + -y l . Cf. stub- 
by.} 1. Abounding with stumps of trees. 
___,.. . One 
who or that which stuns, or excites astonish- 
ment; a person, an action, or a thing that as- 
tounds or amazes. [Colloq.] 
I am busy working a cap for you, dear aunty, . . . and 
.. . . , I think when finished |it] will be quite a stunner. 
f m . ,, A form Of joint E. B. Ramsay, Scottish Life and Character, iv. 
in which the ends or stumps of the parts joined gtruming (stun'ing), n. [Verbal n. of stutil, r.] 
f aaiTict. A!, nt.her wr,n in line, and Der- The aet or condit i on expressed by the verb 
called stump-puller. 
2. A dental instrument for extracting the 
stumps of teeth. . . . ^ 
stun; stupefaction. 
They [symptoms of pathological collapse] appear in suc- 
cession, and run from a condition of stunning or partial 
, To strike unexpectedly and sharply as the Stump-puller (stum P 'pul''er), H , Sameas,^- torpor into ^^St^S^S Surgery, P . 98. 
mfnrtnAB niminst something fixed \ stub : as, <"'(<", i. 
fColloq ] stump-tailed (stump'tald), a. Having a short stunning (stun'ing), p. a. [Ppr. of stun*, r.] 
or impedi- stumpy tail; bobtailed; curtal. Very striking; astonishing, especially by fine 
without a road. [Colloq.] 
Be inventive. Cultivate the creative side of your brain. 
Don't be stumped. Sei. Amer., N. S., LVIII. 337. 
Uncle Sam himself confesses that he can do everything 
but enioy himself. That, he admits, stumps him. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 977. 
Hence 4. To challenge or dare to do some- 
thing difficult, dangerous, or adventurous. [Col- 
loq., U. S.] 
In some games . . . younger children are commanded, 
or older ones stumped or dared, to do dangerous things, 
like walking a picket fence or a high roof. 
Amer. Jour. Psychol., III. 66. 
5. To make stump speeches in or to ; canvass 
or address with stump oratory: as, to stmnp a 
county or a constituency. [Colloq.] 6. In 
cricket : (a) To knock down a stump or the 
stumps of. 
A herd of boys with clamour bpwl'd, 
And stump'd the wicket. Tennyson, Princess, Prol. 
(b) To put (a batsman) out by knocking down 
his wicket with the ball when, in an attempt to 
hit the ball, he has gone off the ground allotted 
to him: sometimeswithoM?: as, he was stumped, 
or stumped out. Hence 7. To defeat; impov- 
erish; ruin. 
Don't you know our history? haven't you heard, my 
dear fellow, we are stumped ? T. Hook, Gilbert Gurney, xiv. 
[He] had shrunk his " weak means," and was stump'd and 
"hard up." Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 47. 
8. To pay on the spot ; plank down ; hand over : 
generally with up. [Slang.] 
My trusty old crony, 
Do stump up three thousand once more as a loan. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 48. 
How much is the captain going to stump up? 
R. D. Blackmore, Christowell, I. xxiii. 
9. In art, to use a stump upon ; tone or modify 
by the application of a stump : as, to stump a 
crayon- or charcoal-drawing. 10. In hat-mak- 
ing, to stretch out (a felted" wool hat) after the 
operation of washing, and prior to drying. 
II. intrans. 1. To walk stiffly, heavily, or 
noisily, as if on stumps or wooden legs. 
He rose from his seat, stumped across the room. 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xii. 
The guard picks him off the coach-top and sets him on 
his legs, and they stump off into the bar. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, L 4. 
2. To make stump speeches ; conduct election- 
eering by public speaking; make harangues 
from the stump. See stump, n., 8. [Colloq.] 
There will be a severe contest between the Conserva- 
tives, who are stumping vigorously, and Mr. and 
the Republicans. The Nation, VI. 242. 
To stump It. (n) To take to flight ; run off. [Slang.] 
quality or appearance ; of a most admirable or 
wonderful kind. [Colloq.] 
He heard another say that he would tell them of a stun- 
ning workhouse for a good supper and breakfast. 
Ribton-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 2SM. 
What a stunning tap, Tom ! You are a wunner for bot- 
tling the swipes. T. Hughes. Tom Brown at Rugby, it. S. 
We were shaving ttumpy shores, like that at the foot of 
Madrid bend. stunningly (stun'mg-li), adv. In a stunning 
S. L. Clemens, Life on the Mississippi, p. 134. manner ; so as to produce a stunning effect. 
[Chiefly colloq.] 
Gale, . . visible by the tossing boughs, stunningly au- 
dible. The Century, XXVII. 36. 
A nautical contraction 
2. Having the character or appearance of a 
stump; short and thick ; stubby; stocky. 
A pair of stumpy bow-legs supported his squat, un- 
wieldy figure. Poe, King Pest, gtunsail (stun'sl), . 
A thick-set, stumpy old copy of Richard Baxter's " Holy of studdingsail. 
Commonwealth." J. T. Fields, Underbrush, p. 15. gtunt (stunt), a. [< ME. stunt, < AS. stunt, 
Stumpy (stum'pi), n. [_<stump, r. t., 8.] Ready dull, obtuse, stupid, = Icel. stuttr (for *stuntr) 
money; cash. [Slang.] = OSw. stunt = Norw. sttitt, short, stunted.] 
It. Dull; obtuse; stupid; foolish. Ormulum, 
Down with the stumpy^ fazzy for a jot.of half-and- j '^4 _' 2 Fierc ' e; J^ [Prov . Eng-] 
half. 
Kmgsley, Alton Locke, li. (flames.) 
stun 1 (stun), v. t.; pret. and pp. stunned, ppr. 
gry. 
stunt (stunt), v. t. [< ME. stitnten; < stunt, a. 
"'rVW ! 7 PP: *7'"> 1'P' ' cF/,avar.of*tolM.;cf.alsoste*2.] I/TO 
?'<L [ < ^ E : 'TWJ? "=' kf-Jr make a' fool of. [Prov. Eng.] -2. T O J check; 
ian, make a din; cf. Icel. stynja, Sw. stonti, 
Dan. stonne, D. stenen (> Gr. stohnen), groan 
(Icel. stynr, etc., a groan); AS. pret. d-sten for 
*d-stsen, implying an orig. strong verb *stenan ; 
OBulg. stenja, Russ. stenati, Lith. steneti, Gr. 
arevetv, groan; Skt. / ftan, sound, thunder. 
Hence the dial, or obs. var. stound s ; also in 
comp. astun, astound, astony, astonish, etc., with 
variations due in part to confusion with other 
words: see the words cited.] 1. To strike the 
ears of rudely, as it were by blows of sound; 
cramp; hinder; stint: used of growth or pro- 
gress. 
Oligarchy, wherever it has existed, has always stunted 
the growth of genius. Macaulay, Mitford's Hist. Greece. 
3. To check the growth or development of; 
hinder the increase or progress of; cramp; 
dwarf: as, to stunt a child by hard usage. 
The hardy sect grew up and nourished in spite of every- 
thing that seemed likely to stunt it. 
Macaulay, Nugent's Hampden. 
distracting noise. 
We were stunned with these confused noises. 
Addison, Tatler, No. 254. 
Tho' Shouts of Thunder loud afflict the Air, 
Stun the Birds now releas'd, and shake the Iv'ry Chair. 
Prior, Solomon, iii. 
2. To strike with stupor physically, as by a 
blow or violence of any kind; deprive of con- 
sciousness or strength. 
So was he stound with stroke of her huge taile. 
proper growth ; a stunted creature ; specifi- 
cally, a whale of two years, which, having been 
weaned, is lean, and yields but little blubber. 
2. A check in growth; a partial or complete 
arrest of development or progress. 
Are not our educations commonly like a pile of books 
laid over a plant in a pot? The compressed nature strug- 
gles through at e?ery crevice, but can never get B the 
cramp and stunt out of it. 
Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. 137. 
Spenser, V. Q., V. xi. 29. stunted (stun'ted), p. a. Checked in growth; 
The giddy ship betwixt the winds and tides, 
Forc'd back and forwards, in a circle rides, 
Stunn'd with the different blows. 
Dryden, Cym. and Iph., 1. 841. 
3. To benumb; stupefy; deaden. 
That she [the cramp-fish] not onely stayes them in the 
Deep, 
But stuns their sense, and luls them fast a-sleep. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 5. stuntedness (stun 't e d-ne S ), n 
The assailants, . . . stunned by the furious, unexpected, being stu nted. 
undeveloped; dwarfed. 
Where stunted birches hid the rill. 
Scott, Marmion, iii. 1. 
There is a seed of the future in each of us, which we 
can unfold if we please, or leave to be forever only a 
stunted, half -grown stalk. J. F. Clarlte, Self-Culture, p. 40. 
I lived for years a stunted sunless life. 
Tennyson. Aylmer's Field. 
The state of 
fy stand to their arms. Scott^Que'nHn Dnrward, xx'xvi StuntinesSt (stun'ti-nes), . S 
In ^2| K^ 2lln !t^erS S5^t5^ < ? J S 
Same as utiintrd- 
Kinr/dey, Hypatia, xxviii. Stunted brevity; shortness. [Bare.] 
