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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 2025

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)

Etymology

From Middle High German stap, stab, from Old High German stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with English staff, Dutch staf, Swedish stav, Old Norse stafr. The meaning co-workers is secondary: in the German word Generalstab ‎(“General Staff”) the meaning changed from the staff as a symbol of authority to the group of military officers and later to any group of co-workers.[1]

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːp

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