Stale

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Staled} (st[=a]ld); p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Staling}.]
     To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or
     use of; to wear out.
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           Age can not wither her, nor custom stale
           Her infinite variety.                    --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\, v. i. [Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw.
     stalla, and E. stall a stable. [root] 163. See {Stall}, n.,
     and cf. {Stale}, a.]
     To make water; to discharge urine; -- said especially of
     horses and cattle. --Hudibras.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\ (st[=a]l), n. [OE. stale, stele, AS. stael, stel;
     akin to LG. & D. steel, G. stiel; cf. L. stilus stake, stalk,
     stem, Gr. steleo`n a handle, and E. stall, stalk, n.]
     The stock or handle of anything; as, the stale of a rake.
     [Written also {steal}, {stele}, etc.]
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           But seeing the arrow's stale without, and that the head
           did go
           No further than it might be seen.        --Chapman.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\, n. [See {Stale}, a. & v. i.]
     1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by
        use. [Obs.]
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     2. A prostitute. [Obs.] --Shak.
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     3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\, a. [Akin to stale urine, and to stall, n.;
     probably from Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. {Stale}, v. i.]
     1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit,
        and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.
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     2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stale bread.
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     3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out;
        decayed. "A stale virgin." --Spectator.
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     4. Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty
        and power of pleasing; trite; common. --Swift.
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              Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. --Grew.
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              How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable
              Seem to me all the uses of this world! --Shak.
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     {Stale affidavit} (Law), an affidavit held above a year.
        --Craig.
  
     {Stale demand} (Law), a claim or demand which has not been
        pressed or demanded for a long time.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stale \Stale\, n. [Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market,
     F. ['e]tal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place,
     stable, G. stall (see {Stall}, n.); or from OE. stale theft,
     AS. stalu (see {Steal}, v. t.).]
     1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to
        draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool
        pigeon. [Obs.]
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              Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay.
                                                    --Spenser.
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     2. A stalking-horse. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
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     3. (Chess) A stalemate. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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     4. A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] --Shak.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  stale
       adj 1: showing deterioration from age; "stale bread" [ant: {fresh}]
       2: lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new;
          "moth-eaten theories about race" [syn: {old}, {moth-eaten}]
       3: no longer new; uninteresting; "cold (or stale) news" [syn: {cold}]
       v : urinate, of cattle and horses

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  120 Moby Thesaurus words for "stale":
     allurement, antiquated, back-number, bait, banal, bewhiskered,
     blown, boring, bromidic, cliche, cliched, come-on, common,
     commonplace, corny, crumbling, cut-and-dried, dead, decoy,
     dilapidated, dilute, diluted, dry, dusty, enticement, fade,
     familiar, fetid, flat, flavorless, frowy, fusty, gamy, gone off,
     gone to seed, gruelly, hackney, hackneyed, hand-me-down, hardened,
     high, inane, indifferent, insipid, jejune, limp, mild, mildewed,
     milk-and-water, moldering, moldy, moss-grown, moth-eaten, mouldy,
     musty, noisome, off, old, old hat, old-fashioned, overused, pappy,
     platitudinous, pulpy, rancid, rank, reechy, reeking, rotten,
     ruined, ruinous, rusty, sapless, savorless, seducement, set,
     shopworn, smelly, snare, sour, soured, spiceless, spoiled, square,
     stenchy, stereotyped, stinking, stock, strong, tainted, tasteless,
     temptation, thin, threadbare, time-scarred, timeworn, tired,
     tiresome, trap, trite, truistic, turned, unflavored, unoriginal,
     unsavory, vapid, warmed-over, washy, watered, watered-down, watery,
     weak, weary, well-known, well-worn, wilted, wishy-washy, withered,
     worn, worn thin