stall
/stɔːl/ noun, verb
- noun (countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
- noun A stable; a place for cattle.
- noun A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
- noun (countable) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.
- noun A small partitioned space or roomlet used for a shower or a toilet.
- noun (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.
- noun (Germanic paganism) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.
- noun A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
- verb (transitive) To put (an animal, etc.) in a stall. “to stall an ox”
- verb To fatten. “to stall cattle”
- verb (obsolete) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
- verb To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
- verb To forestall; to anticipate.
- verb To keep close; to keep secret.
- 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.”
- noun (aeronautics) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded, normally occurring due to low airspeed.
- verb (transitive) To employ delaying tactics against. “He stalled the creditors as long as he could.”
- verb (intransitive) To employ delaying tactics; to stall for time. “Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.”
- verb (intransitive) To come to a standstill.
- verb (transitive) To cause to stop making progress; to hinder; to slow down; to delay or forestall.
Synonyms
boose cubicle bay space spot stallsman delay postpone put off penelopize procrastinate booth kiosk stand sales booth carrel carrell stalling drag one's feet drag one's heels shillyshally dilly-dally dillydally conk
Etymology
From Middle English stall, stalle, from Old English steall (“standing place, position”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, put, post, stand”). Cognate with French étal, Italian stallo, German Stall, Swedish stall.
From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A stand; a station; a fixed spot; hence, the stand or place where a horse or an ox kept and fed; the division of a stable, or the compartment, for one horse, ox, or other animal. "In an oxes stall." Chaucer.
- noun A stable; a place for cattle.
- verb To put into a stall or stable; to keep in a stall or stalls; as, to stall an ox. Where King Latinus then his oxen stalled.
- verb To fatten; as, to stall cattle. [Prov. Eng.]
Etymology [OE. stal, AS. steall, stall, a place, seat, or station, a stable; akin to D. & OHG. stal, G. & Sw. stall, stallr, Dan. stald, originally, a standing place; akin to G. selle a place, stellen to place, Gr. stand. Stand, and cf. Apostle, Epistle, Forestall, Install, Stale, a. & v. i., 1st Stalk, Stallion, Still.]
Etymology [Cf. Sw. stalla, Dan. stalde.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “stall”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details