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stall - What does it mean?

Definition of 'stall'

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) stall, from (etyl) , Old Norse stallr. Cognate with (stand).

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
  • A stable; a place for cattle.
  • * Dryden
  • At last he found a stall where oxen stood.
  • A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
  • * John Gay
  • how peddlers' stalls with glittering toys are laid
  • (countable) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market.
  • * 1900', , Chapter I,
  • He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days...
  • A very small room used for a shower or a toilet.
  • * (rfdate) John Updike, Rabbit at Rest ,
  • Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall , and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.
  • (countable) A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
  • (aeronautics) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded.
  • (paganism|and|Heathenry) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow .
  • * {{quote-book
  • |year=1989 |author=Edred Thorsson |title=A Book of Troth |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |chapter= |volume= |volume_plain= |section= |url= |isbn=9780875427775 |page=156 |passage=In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall .}}
  • * {{quote-book
  • |year=2006 |author=Selene Silverwind |title=Everything you need to know about Paganism |publisher=David & Charles |chapter=Asatruar Tools and Practices citation |isbn=9780715324868 |page=117 |passage=Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.}}
  • * {{quote-book
  • |year=2006 |author=Mark Puryear |publisher=iUniverse |title=The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe citation |isbn=9780595389643 |page=237 |passage=Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar .}}
  • A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
  • A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.
  • * 1910 [1840], , P. F. Collier edition,
  • When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall , thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.
  • A sheath to protect the finger.
  • (mining) The space left by excavation between pillars.
  • Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To put (an animal etc) in a stall.
  • to stall an ox
  • * Dryden
  • where King Latinus then his oxen stalled
  • To fatten.
  • to stall cattle
  • To come to a standstill.
  • To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.
  • to stall a cart
  • * E. E. Hale
  • His horses had been stalled in the snow.
  • (aeronautics) To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in total loss of lift.
  • (obsolete) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
  • * Shakespeare
  • We could not stall together / In the whole world.
  • (obsolete) To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
  • (obsolete) To be tired of eating, as cattle.
  • To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
  • (Shakespeare)
  • To forestall; to anticipate.
  • * Massinger
  • not to be stall'd by my report
  • To keep close; to keep secret.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Stall this in your bosom.

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • An action that is intended to cause or actually causes delay.
  • His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To employ delaying tactics against
  • He stalled the creditors as long as he could.
  • To employ delaying tactics
  • Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.