stale

Verb · Adjective
US[steyl]/steɪl/1 syllable
Synonyms: colddustymoth-eaten

Open English WordNet

Adjective (2)

  1. lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age“stale bread”“the beer was stale”Opposite freshSimilar cold, bad, flyblown, hard, day-old, putrescent, rancid, putrid +4 moreRelates to stalenessSee also old, unoriginal
  2. lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new“moth-eaten theories about race”“stale news”Synonyms: colddustymoth-eatenOpposite originalSimilar unoriginal

Verb (1)staled, staling

  1. urinate, of cattle and horsesMore general make, urinate

Related words staleness noun

Word of the day · Nov 10About this word
hiatusnoun

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Stale (stāl), noun

Origin: OE. stale, stele, AS. stael, 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 seeing the arrow's stale without, and that the head did go No further than it might be seen.— George Chapman
Stale adjective

Origin: Akin to stale urine, and to stall, n.; probably from Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. Stale, intransitive verb

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, stale bread.

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

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

Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing.— Nehemiah Grew
How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!— William Shakespeare

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

Stale transitive verb [past tense & past participle Staled (stāld); present participle & verbal noun 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.— William Shakespeare
Stale intransitive verb

Origin: Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, and E. stall a stable. √ 163. See Stall, noun, and cf. Stale, adjective

To make water; to discharge urine; — said especially of horses and cattle.

Stale noun

Origin: See Stale, adjective & intransitive verb

1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. obsolete

2. A prostitute. obsolete William Shakespeare

3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. “Stale of horses.” William Shakespeare

Stale noun

Origin: Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market, F. étal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place, stable, G. stall (see Stall, noun); or from OE. stale theft, AS. stalu (see Steal, transitive verb).

1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. obsolete

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

2. A stalking-horse. obsolete Ben Jonson

3. Chess A stalemate. obsolete Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

4. A laughingstock; a dupe. obsolete William Shakespeare

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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