stalk
/stɔːk/ noun, verb
- noun The stem or main axis of a plant. “a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp”
- noun The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant. “grape stalks”
- noun Something resembling the stalk of a plant, such as the stem of a quill.
- noun (architecture) An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.
- noun One of the two upright pieces of a ladder.
- noun A stem or peduncle, as in certain barnacles and crinoids.
- noun The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect.
- noun The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.
- verb (transitive) To approach slowly and quietly in order not to be discovered when getting closer.
- verb (transitive) To (try to) follow or contact someone constantly, often resulting in harassment.ᵂᵖ “My ex-girlfriend is stalking me.”
- verb (intransitive) To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner.
- verb (intransitive) To walk behind something, such as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under cover.
- verb (Internet slang, transitive) Of a person's social media activity: to look through thoroughly or obsessively; to keep tabs on, generally avoiding contact.
- noun A particular episode of trying to follow or contact someone.
- noun The hunting of a wild animal by stealthy approach.
- verb (intransitive) To walk haughtily.
- noun A haughty style of walking.
Synonyms
footstalk chaff husk shuck straw stubble stem stalking still hunt angry walk haunt
Etymology
From Middle English stalke, stelke, stalk, perhaps from Old English *stealc, *stielc, *stealuc, from Proto-West Germanic *staluk, *stalik, from Proto-Germanic *stalukaz, *stalikaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *stalô, *staluz (“support, stem, stalk”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, stand; be stiff; stud, post, trunk, stake, stem, stalk”).
Cognate with Dutch staal (“sample”), steel (“stem”), German Stiel (“stalk”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål stilk (“stalk, stem”), Faroese stjølur (“bottom part of a sheaf”), Icelandic stilkur (“stalk, stem”), Norwegian Nynorsk stilk, stylk (“stalk, stem”), styl (“lower part of a straw”), Swedish stjälk (“stalk, stem”), Albanian shtalkë (“crossbeam, board used as a door hinge”), Welsh telm (“frond”), Ancient Greek στειλειή (steileiḗ, “beam”), Old Armenian ստեղն (stełn, “trunk, stalk”).
From Middle English stalken, from Old English *stealcian (as in bestealcian (“to move stealthily”), stealcung (“stalking”)), from Proto-West Germanic *stalukōn, from Proto-Germanic *stalukōną (“to stalk, move stealthily”) (compare Dutch stelkeren, stolkeren (“to tip-toe, tread carefully”), Danish stalke (“to high step, stalk”), Norwegian dialectal stalka (“to trudge”)), from *stalkaz, *stelkaz (compare Old English stealc (“steep”), Old Norse stelkr, stjalkr (“knot (bird), red sandpiper”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telg, *(s)tolg- (compare Middle Irish tolg (“strength”), Lithuanian stalgùs (“stiff, defiant, proud”)).
Alternate etymology connects Proto-Germanic *stalkōną to a frequentative form of *stelaną (“to steal”).
Attested 1530 in the sense "to walk haughtily", perhaps from Old English stealc (“steep”), from Proto-Germanic *stelkaz, *stalkaz (“high, lofty, steep, stiff”); see above.
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) The stem or main axis of a plant; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp.
- noun That which resembes the stalk of a plant, as the stem of a quill.
- verb To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner; --sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun. Shak.
- verb To walk behind something as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under clover.
Etymology [OE. stalke, fr. AS. stæl, stel, a stalk. See Stale a handle, Stall.]
Etymology [AS. stælcan, stealcian to go slowly; cf. stels high, elevated, Dan. stalke to stalk; probably akin to 1st stalk.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “stalk”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details