Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Stale

Stale (stāl), n. [OE. stale, stele, AS. stæl, stel; akin to LG. & D. steel, G. stiel; cf. L. stilus stake, stalk, stem, Gr. στελεόν a handle, and E. stall, stalk, n.] The stock or handle of anything; as, the stale of a rake. [Written also steal, stele, etc.]

But seeling the arrow's stale without, and that the head did go No further than it might be seen. Chapman.

Stale, a. [Akin to stale urine, and to stall, n.; probably from Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. Stale, v. i.] 1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.

2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stele bread.

3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. "A stale virgin." Spectator.

4. Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; trite; common. Swift.

Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. Grew.

How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Shak.

Stale affidavit (Law), an affidavit held above a year. Craig. — Stale demand (Law), a claim or demand which has not been pressed or demanded for a long time.

Stale, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staled; p. pr. & vb. n. Staling.] To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out.

Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.

Stale, v. i. [Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, and E. stall a stable. √ 163. See Stall, n., and cf. Stale, a.] To make water; to discharge urine; — said especially of horses and cattle. Hudibras.

Stale, n. [See Stale, a. & v. i.] 1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.]

2. A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.

3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." Shak.

Stale, n. [Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market, F. étal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place, stable, G. stall (see Stall, n.); or from OE. stale theft, AS. stalu (see Steal, v. t.)] 1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.]

Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spenser.

2. A stalking-horse. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

3. (Chess) A stalemate. [Obs.] Bacon.

4. A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] Shak.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.