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Webster 1913 Edition

Stay

Stay

(stā)
,
Noun.
[AS.
staeg
, akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., & Dan.
stag
; cf. OF.
estai
, F.
étai
, of Teutonic origin.]
(Naut.)
A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel’s side are called backstays. See Illust. of
Ship
.
In stays
, or
Hove in stays
(Naut.)
,
in the act or situation of staying, or going about from one tack to another.
R. H. Dana, Jr.
–
Stay holes
(Naut.)
,
openings in the edge of a staysail through which the hanks pass which join it to the stay.
–
Stay tackle
(Naut.)
,
a tackle attached to a stay and used for hoisting or lowering heavy articles over the side.
–
To miss stays
(Naut.)
,
to fail in the attempt to go about.
Totten.
–
Triatic stay
(Naut.)
,
a rope secured at the ends to the heads of the foremast and mainmast with thimbles spliced to its bight into which the stay tackles hook.

Stay

(stā)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stayed
(stād)
or
Staid
(stād)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Staying
.]
[OF.
estayer
, F.
étayer
to prop, fr. OF.
estai
, F.
étai
, a prop, probably fr. OD.
stade
,
staeye
, a prop, akin to E.
stead
; or cf.
stay
a rope to support a mast. Cf.
Staid
,
Adj.
,
Stay
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to fix firmly; to hold up; to support.
Aaron and Hur
stayed
up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side.
Ex. xvii. 12.
Sallows and reeds . . . for vineyards useful found
To
stay
thy vines.
Dryden.
2.
To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not
staid
his stomach for a minute.
Sir W. Scott.
3.
To bear up under; to endure; to support; to resist successfully.
She will not
stay
the siege of loving terms,
Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes.
Shakespeare
4.
To hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain; to stop; to hold.
Him backward overthrew and down him
stayed

With their rude hands and grisly grapplement.
Spenser.
All that may
stay
their minds from thinking that true which they heartily wish were false.
Hooker.
5.
To hinder; to delay; to detain; to keep back.
Your ships are
stayed
at Venice.
Shakespeare
This business
staid
me in London almost a week.
Evelyn.
I was willing to
stay
my reader on an argument that appeared to me new.
Locke.
6.
To remain for the purpose of; to wait for.
“I stay dinner there.”
Shak.
7.
To cause to cease; to put an end to.
Stay
your strife.
Shakespeare
For flattering planets seemed to say
This child should ills of ages
stay
.
Emerson.
8.
(Engin.)
To fasten or secure with stays;
as, to
stay
a flat sheet in a steam boiler
.
9.
(Naut.)
To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind.
To stay a mast
(Naut.)
,
to incline it forward or aft, or to one side, by the stays and backstays.

Stay

(stā)
,
Verb.
I.
[√163. See
Stay
to hold up, prop.]
1.
To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still.
She would command the hasty sun to
stay
.
Spenser.
Stay
, I command you;
stay
and hear me first.
Dryden.
I
stay
a little longer, as one
stays

To cover up the embers that still burn.
Longfellow.
2.
To continue in a state.
The flames augment, and
stay

At their full height, then languish to decay.
Dryden.
3.
To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
I 'll tell thee all my whole device
When I am in my coach, which
stays
for us.
Shakespeare
The father can not
stay
any longer for the fortune.
Locke.
4.
To dwell; to tarry; to linger.
I must
stay
a little on one action.
Dryden.
5.
To rest; to depend; to rely; to stand; to insist.
I
stay
here on my bond.
Shakespeare
Ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and
stay
thereon.
Isa. xxx. 12.
6.
To come to an end; to cease;
as, that day the storm
stayed
.
[Archaic]
Here my commission
stays
.
Shakespeare
7.
To hold out in a race or other contest;
as, a horse
stays
well
.
[Colloq.]
8.
(Naut.)
To change tack, as a ship.

Stay

,
Noun.
[Cf. OF.
estai
, F.
étai
support, and E.
stay
a rope to support a mast.]
1.
That which serves as a prop; a support.
“My only strength and stay.”
Milton.
Trees serve as so many
stays
for their vines.
Addison.
Lord Liverpool is the single
stay
of this ministry.
Coleridge.
2.
pl.
A corset stiffened with whalebone or other material, worn by women, and rarely by men.
How the strait
stays
the slender waist constrain.
Gay.
3.
Continuance in a place; abode for a space of time; sojourn;
as, you make a short
stay
in this city
.
Make haste, and leave thy business and thy care;
No mortal interest can be worth thy
stay
.
Dryden.
Embrace the hero and his
stay
implore.
Waller.
4.
Cessation of motion or progression; stand; stop.
Made of sphere metal, never to decay
Until his revolution was at
stay
.
Milton.
Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a
stay
.
Hayward.
5.
Hindrance; let; check.
[Obs.]
They were able to read good authors without any
stay
, if the book were not false.
Robynson (More's Utopia).
6.
Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
[Obs.]
“Not grudging that thy lust hath bounds and stays.”
Herbert.
The wisdom,
stay
, and moderation of the king.
Bacon.
With prudent
stay
he long deferred
The rough contention.
Philips.
7.
(Engin.)
Strictly, a part in tension to hold the parts together, or stiffen them.
Stay bolt
(Mech.)
,
a bolt or short rod, connecting opposite plates, so as to prevent them from being bulged out when acted upon by a pressure which tends to force them apart, as in the leg of a steam boiler.
–
Stay busk
,
a stiff piece of wood, steel, or whalebone, for the front support of a woman's stays. Cf.
Busk
.
–
Stay rod
,
a rod which acts as a stay, particularly in a steam boiler.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stay

STAY

,
Verb.
I.
pret. staid, for stayed. [L., to stand.]
1.
To remain; to continue in a place; to abide for any indefinite time. Do you stay here, while I go to the next house. Stay here a week. We staid at the Hotel Montmorenci.
Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first.
2.
To continue in a state.
The flames augment, and stay at their full highth, then languish to decay.
3.
To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
I stay for Turnus.
Would ye stay for them from having husbands? Ruth 1.
4.
To stop; to stand still.
She would command the hasty sun to stay.
5.
To dwell.
I must stay a little on one action.
6.
To rest; to rely; to confide in; to trust.
Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression, and stay thereon--Isaiah 30.

STAY

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. staid, for stayed.
1.
To stop; to hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain.
All that may stay the mind from thinking that true which they heartily wish were false.
To stay these sudden gusts of passion.
2.
To delay; to obstruct; to hinder from proceeding.
Your ships are staid at Venice.
I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me to be new.
3.
To keep from departure; as, you might have staid me here.
4.
To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to hold up; to support.
Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands. Exodus 17.
Sallows and reeds for vineyards useful found to stay thy vines.
5.
To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; as, to take a luncheon to stay the stomach.

STAY

,
Noun.
1.
Continuance in a place; abode for a time indefinite; as, you make a short stay in this city.
Embrace the hero, and his stay implore.
2.
Stand; stop; cessation of motion or progression.
Affairs of state seemd rather to stand at a stay.
[But in this sense, we now use stand; to be at a stand.]
3.
Stop; obstruction; hinderance from progress.
Grievd with each step, tormented with each stay.
4.
Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
With prudent stay, he long deferrd the rough contention.
5.
A fixed state.
Alas, what stay is there in human state!
6.
Prop; support.
Trees serve as so many stays for their vines.
My only strength and stay!
The Lord is my stay. Psalm 18.
The stay and the staff, the means of supporting and preserving life. Isaiah 3.
7.
Steadiness of conduct.
8.
In the rigging of a ship, a large strong rope employed to support the mast, by being extended from its upper end to the stem of the ship. The fore-stay reaches from the foremast head towards the bowsprit end; the main-stay extends to the ships stem; the mizen-stay is stretched to a collar on the main-mast, above the quarter deck, &c.
Stays, in seamanship, implies the operation of going about or changing the course of a ship, with a shifting of the sails. To be in stays, is to lie with the head to the wind, and the sails so arranged as to check her progress.
To miss stays, to fail in the attempt to go about.

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