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Webster 1913 Edition


Stab

Stab

(stăb)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stabbed
(stăbd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stabbing
.]
[Cf. OD.
staven
to fix, fasten, fr.
stave
,
staff
, a staff, rod; akin to G.
stab
a staff, stick, E.
staff
; also Gael.
stob
to stab, as n., a stake, a stub. Cf.
Staff
.]
1.
To pierce with a pointed weapon; to wound or kill by the thrust of a pointed instrument;
as, to
stab
a man with a dagger
; also, to thrust;
as, to
stab
a dagger into a person
.
2.
Fig.: To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander;
as, to
stab
a person’s reputation
.

Stab

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To give a wound with a pointed weapon; to pierce; to thrust with a pointed weapon.
None shall dare
With shortened sword to
stab
in closer war.
Dryden.
2.
To wound or pain, as if with a pointed weapon.
She speaks poniards, and every word
stabs
.
Shakespeare
To stab at
,
to offer or threaten to stab; to thrust a pointed weapon at.

Stab

,
Noun.
1.
The thrust of a pointed weapon.
2.
A wound with a sharp-pointed weapon;
as, to fall by the
stab
of an assassin
.
Shak.
3.
Fig.: An injury inflicted covertly or suddenly;
as, a
stab
given to character
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Stab

STAB

,
Verb.
T.
[This word contains the elements, and is probably from the primary sense, of the L., to point or prick, and a multitude of others in many languages. The radical sense is to thrust; but I know not to what oriental roots they are allied.]
1.
To pierce with a pointed weapon; as, to be stabbed by a dagger or a spear; to stab fish or eels.
2.
To wound mischievously or mortally; to kill by the thrust of a pointed instrument.
3.
To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander; as, to stab reputation.

STAB

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To give a wound with a pointed weapon.
None shall dare with shortend sword to stab in closer war.
2.
To give a mortal wound.
He speaks poniards, and every word stabs.
To stab at, to offer a stab; to thrust a pointed weapon at.

STAB

,
Noun.
1.
The thrust of a pointed weapon.
2.
A wound with a sharp pointed weapon; as, to fall by the stab of an assassin.
3.
An injury given in the dark; a sly mischief; as a stab given to character.

Definition 2024


Stab

Stab

See also: stab, STAB, stáb, and štab

German

Noun

Stab m (genitive Stabs or Stabes, plural Stäbe, diminutive Stäbchen n)

  1. rod, staff
  2. staff (employees)
  3. (heraldry) palet

Declension

Descendants

References

  1. “Stab” in: Friedrich Kluge, “Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache” , 22. Auflage, 1989, bearbeitet von Elmar Seebold, ISBN 3-11-006800-1

stab

stab

See also: Stab, STAB, stáb, and štab

English

Noun

stab (plural stabs)

  1. An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object.
  2. A wound made by stabbing.
  3. Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.
  4. (informal) An attempt.
    I'll give this thankless task a stab.
  5. Criticism.
  6. (music) A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.
    a horn stab
  7. A bacterial culture made by inoculating a solid medium, such as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

a man about to be stabbed

stab (third-person singular simple present stabs, present participle stabbing, simple past and past participle stabbed)

  1. (transitive) To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a pointed tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger.
    • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tremarn Case:
      “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”
    If you stab him in the heart he won't live long enough to retaliate.
  2. (transitive) To thrust in a stabbing motion.
    to stab a dagger into a person
  3. (intransitive) To recklessly hit with the tip of a pointed object, such as a weapon or finger (often used with at).
    • John Dryden
      None shall dare / With shortened sword to stab in closer war.
    He stabbed at my face with the twig but luckily kept missing my eyes.
  4. (intransitive) To cause a sharp, painful sensation (often used with at).
    The snow from the blizzard was stabbing at my face as I skied down the mountain.
  5. (transitive, figuratively) To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander.
    to stab a person's reputation

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams


Danish

Etymology

From German Stab.

Noun

stab c (singular definite staben, plural indefinite stabe)

  1. staff

Inflection


Swedish

Pronunciation

Etymology

From German Stab.[1]

Noun

stab c

  1. a staff

Declension

Inflection of stab 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative stab staben staber staberna
Genitive stabs stabens stabers stabernas

References

  1. stab in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)