# stay

Pronunciation: say "STAY" /steɪ/

## Verb

1. To remain in a place rather than leave, especially for a limited time, sometimes while waiting for something.
   - Simple: To remain in a place for some time instead of leaving.
   - _Can you stay a little longer after the meeting?_
   - _They stayed in Lisbon for three nights before flying home._
2. To continue to have a particular quality rather than changing over time.
   - Simple: To keep being a certain way and not change.
   - _Despite the scandal, the senator stayed popular with rural voters._
   - _A squeeze of lemon juice helps the sliced apples stay fresh._
4. To hold out to the end, as in a race or contest; to last or persevere.
   - Simple: To keep going until the end of a race or hard task.
   - _The challenger stayed gamely through the late rounds, refusing to fold._
   - _The filly has plenty of speed, but nobody knows if she will stay._
5. To live or reside in a place; to make one's home there. *(dialectal, India, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Southern US)*
   - Simple: To live somewhere, to have your home there.
   - _She stays over on the east side, near her mom._
   - _Where do you stay now that you moved back home?_
7. To postpone or delay something; to defer an action or hold it back until a later time.
   - Simple: To delay something or put it off until later.
   - _The court stayed the eviction while the appeal was heard._
   - _Officials voted to stay the demolition until the review was complete._
8. To stop, hold back, or check someone or something; to halt the course or progress of something, or bring it to an end.
   - Simple: To stop or hold back someone or something, or stop something from going on.
   - _A guard stayed the travelers at the gate until their papers were checked._
   - _No barricade could stay the advancing crowd for long._
9. To support or sustain something; to supply it with strength, or to satisfy a need temporarily.
   - Simple: To give something strength or support, or to satisfy a need for a short time.
   - _She drank a glass of milk to stay her hunger before the meeting._
   - _Hope alone seemed to stay the survivors until the rescue boats arrived._
13. To prop up, support, or steady something so it does not fall or give way, especially by bracing it with stays such as ropes, wires, or rods.
   - Simple: To hold something up or keep it steady, for example with ropes or wires.
   - _The builders stayed the old wall with heavy wooden beams._
   - _The campers used ropes to stay the tent poles against the strong wind._

## Noun

3. A period of time spent in a place, whether a brief visit or an extended residence.
   - Simple: A time you spend in one place, like a hotel or a friend's home.
   - _The doctors recommended a longer hospital stay after the surgery._
   - _During his stay in Kyoto, he studied traditional woodworking._
6. A postponement or suspension of a legal proceeding or punishment, especially an execution, by judicial or executive order.
   - Simple: An official decision to delay a punishment or legal action.
   - _The governor granted a last-minute stay of execution._
   - _The appeals court issued a stay, halting the deportation while the case is reviewed._
10. A strip of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, sewn or slipped into a garment to stiffen part of it.
   - Simple: A small stiff piece, often plastic, that keeps part of a shirt or dress in shape.
   - _Remove the collar stays before putting the shirt in the wash._
   - _A flexible stay sewn into each seam keeps the strapless bodice from collapsing._
11. A strong rope, cable, or wire that supports or steadies a ship's mast, a pole, a tower, or another structure.
   - Simple: A strong rope or wire that holds up a ship's mast, a pole, or another tall structure.
   - _A steel stay anchors the chimney against winter gales._
   - _The bridge's deck hangs from stays fanning out from twin pylons._
12. A prop or support that holds something up or keeps it steady.
   - Simple: Something that holds another thing up, like a pole or post.
   - _Carpenters fitted a diagonal stay to brace the fence post._
   - _In his last years, his daughter was the stay of the household._
15. A corset, a stiffened undergarment laced around the torso to shape the waist, usually in the plural.
   - Simple: Stiff underwear, called stays, that is laced tight around the body to make the waist look smaller.
   - _She unlaced her stays with a sigh of relief after the ball._
   - _The shop sold stays, petticoats, and other ladies' garments._

## Verb

14. To make a stand; to hold one's ground firmly, especially against attack or pressure. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To stand firm and refuse to give up or move back.
18. To come to an end; to cease happening or continuing. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To come to an end or stop happening.

## Noun

16. Restraint of one's passions, shown in prudent, cautious, moderate, and sober conduct. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Self-control, or the power to hold back strong feelings and act calmly.
17. A halt or pause; a stopping or interruption of action, movement, or progress. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A stop or pause in movement or action.
19. A fastening for a garment, such as a hook or clasp; also anything on which another thing may be hung. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A hook or clasp that holds a piece of clothing closed.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To hold the attention of someone, keeping them engaged or absorbed.
- (noun) A condition of fixedness or stability; the quality of being settled and permanent.
- (verb) To use stays to make a mast lean forward, aft, or sideways.
- (verb) Of a sailing vessel, to tack or go about onto the other tack; also, to bring a vessel about in this way.
- (noun) The transverse piece fitted across the middle of a link in a chain cable.
- (verb) To withstand pressure or attack without giving way.
- (verb) To wait for the coming of someone or something, such as an event or a result.
- (verb) To remain long enough to be present for an event, like dinner or a service.
- (verb) To lean on or count on something for support.
- (verb) To cease moving and remain still.
- (verb) To wait on someone as a servant or attendant.
- (noun) A fixed place where ships lie at anchor.
- (noun) Something that holds back or obstructs progress.
- (adjective) Steep, or rising upward.
- (adjective) Of a roof, rising at a sharp angle.
- (adjective) Stiff or erect in posture, or reserved, aloof, or haughty in manner.
- (adverb) At a steep angle.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–9, 13–14, 16–18** — This comes from Middle English steyen, staien, from Old French estayer ("to fix, prop up, support"), based on estaye ("a prop, stay"), which came from Middle Dutch staeye and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stadiz ("a standing, place") and Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis ("standing"). It was influenced by Old English stæġ ("a stay, rope"). The sense of "remain, continue" may come from later influence of Old French ester ("to stand, remain"), from Latin stāre, though this derivation is considered untenable; an alternative account traces the Old French word instead to Frankish *stakā ("stake, post").
**Meanings 10, 12, 15, 19** — This comes from Middle English stay, from Old French estaye ("a prop, a stay"), from Middle Dutch staeye, going back to Proto-Germanic *stadiz ("a standing, place") and Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ("to stand").
**Meaning 11** — This comes from Middle English stay, from Old English stæġ ("a rope supporting a mast"), from Proto-Germanic *stagą ("stay, rope") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ("to stand"). It is cognate with Dutch stag, German Stag, and Swedish stag.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stay (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).