View source for stale

{{also|stałe|stále|Ståle}}
==English==

===Pronunciation===
* {{enPR|stāl}}, {{IPA|en|/steɪl/}}
* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-stale.wav|a=Southern England}}
* {{rhymes|en|eɪl|s=1}}

===Etymology 1===
From {{inh|en|enm|stale|id=clear}}, from {{der|en|fro|estale||settled, clear}}, but probably originally from {{der|en|gem-pro|*stāną|t=to stand}}: compare {{cog|vls|stel}} in the same sense for ‘[[beer]]’ and ‘[[urine]]’.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, adj. 1" & "n. 7".</ref>

====Adjective====
{{en-adj|er}}

# {{lb|en|alcohol|obsolete}} [[clear|Clear]], [[free]] of [[dreg]]s and [[lee]]s; [[old]] and [[strong]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1637| title=The Famovs Historie of the most part of Drinks, in use now in the Kingdomes of Great Brittaine and Ireland|author=John Taylor| page=| passage=The stronger ''Beere'' is divided into two parts (''viz.'') mild and '''stale'''; the first may ease a man of a drought, but the later is like water cast into a Smiths forge, and breeds more heartburning, and as rust eates into Iron, so overstale ''Beere'' gnawes auletholes in the entrales, or else my skill failes, and what I have written of it is to be held as a jest.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1826| title=The Vintner's, Brewer's, Spirit Merchant's, and Licensed Victualler's Guide|author=A Practical Man | page=243| passage=Particular care must be taken that the '''stale''' beer in which the isinglass is dissolved be perfectly clear and '''stale'''.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1829| title=The Art of Brewing |author=David Booth| page=52| passage=Is not that ''hard'' or '''''stale''''' beer mixed to give the porter the appearance of age at once, which formerly was allowed to be matured by time?}}
# [[no longer|No longer]] [[fresh]], in [[reference]] to [[food]], [[urine]], [[straw]], [[wound]]s, etc.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1530|author=w:John Palsgrave|url=http://books.google.fr/books?id=8asFAAAAQAAJ|title=L'éclaircissement de la langue française|section=325 2
|passage='''Stale''' as breed or drinke is, ''rassis''. '''Stale''' as meate is that begynneth to savoure, ''viel''.}}
#* {{circa|1550}}, ''Wyll of Deuill'', C 2 b:
#*: New freshe blood to ouersprinkle their '''stale''' [[meat|mete]] that it may [[seem|seme]]...newly kylled.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=2012|author=Stephen Woodworth|title=In Golden Blood: Number 3 in series
|passage=To her surprise, Abe did not come to collect her for the usual morning inhabitation session with Azure. She did not see him until almost noon, when he personally delivered lunch to her tent. Another '''stale''' roll and cup of water sat on the tray he carried. Abe hung his head, as abashed as Honorato had been. “This is all I could sneak in for now. I'll try to get more later.”}}
# No longer fresh, [[new]], or [[interesting]], in [[reference]] to [[idea]]s and [[immaterial]] [[thing]]s; [[clichéd]], [[hackneyed]], [[dated]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1562|publisher=J. Heywood|title=Proverbs & Epigrams|year_published=1867|section=95
|passage=Better is...be it new or '''stale''', A harmelesse lie, than a harmefull true tale.}}
#* '''1579''', in G. Harvey, letter book, 60:
#*: [[doest|Doist]] thou smyle to reade this '''stale''' and beggarlye stuffe.
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Hamlet|I|ii|line=133|text=How wary, '''stale''', flat, and vnprofitable Seeme to me all the vses of this world?}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|year=1822|month=March|author=w:Charles Lamb|journal=London Magazine|section=284 1
|passage=A two-days-old newspaper. You resent the '''stale''' thing as an affront.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=2002|author=Mark Lawson|title=And They Rose Up: Days of Retribution
|passage=Rick would comment on the fact that he'd never had such bad coffee, not even the mud at his precinct. Mark would tell him to quit with the '''stale''' joke, already}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} No longer [[nubile]] or [[suitable]] for [[marriage]], in [[reference]] to [[people]]; [[past]] [[one]]'s [[prime]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1580|author=J. Jeffere|title=Bugbears|section=I ii 108
|passage=Rosimunda...hathe an vncle a '''stale''' batcheler.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|year=1742|author=T. Short|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society|section=42 226
|passage=In barren Women, and '''stale''' Maids, Tapping should be very cautiously undertaken.}}
# {{lb|en|in general}} Not [[new]] or [[recent]]; having been in place or in effect for some time.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=2014|author=David L. Hough|title=Street Strategies for Motorcyclists
|passage=In most states, you can be ticketed for failing to clear the intersection, even if you are hemmed in by traffic. One good clue to a '''stale''' green light is the pedestrian signal.}}
# {{lb|en|agriculture|obsolete}} [[fallow|Fallow]], in reference to [[land]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1764|title=Museum Rusticum|section=II 306
|passage=Lime would do very little or no good on '''stale''' ploughed lands.}}
# {{lb|en|legal}} [[unreasonably|Unreasonably]] [[long]] in [[coming]], in [[reference]] to [[claim]]s and [[action]]s.
#: {{ux|en|a '''stale''' affidavit}}
#: {{ux|en|a '''stale''' demand}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1769|author=w:William Blackstone|title=Common Laws of England|section=IV xv 211
|passage=The jury will rarely give credit to a '''stale''' complaint.}}
# [[worn out|Worn out]], [[particularly]] [[due]] to [[age]] or [[over-]][[exertion]], in [[reference]] to [[athlete]]s and [[animal]]s in [[competition]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1856|chapter=Stonehenge|title=Manual of British Rural Sports|section=II i vi §7 335
|passage=By this means the [horse's] legs are not made more '''stale''' than necessary.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|date=May 28 1885|journal=Truth|section=853 2
|passage=Dame Agnes will probably be '''stale''' after her exertions in the Derby.}}
# {{lb|en|finance}} [[out of date|Out of date]], [[unpaid]] for an [[unreasonable]] [[amount]] of [[time]], [[particularly]] in [[reference]] to [[check]]s.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1901|title=Business Terms & Phrases|section=second edition, 199
|passage='''Stale''' cheque,...a cheque which has remained unpaid for some considerable time.}}
# {{lb|en|computing}} Of [[data]]: [[out of date]]; not synchronized with the newest copy.
#: {{ux|en|The bug was found to be caused by '''stale''' data in the cache.}}

=====Usage notes=====
In the sense regarding food, usually (but not always) [[pejorative]] and synonymous with {{m|en|gone bad}} and {{m|en|turned}}. In reference to [[mead]], [[wine]], and [[bread]], it can describe an acceptable or desired state (see {{m|en|crouton}}). In modern English, however, "stale [[beer]]" has been [[light struck]], [[flat]], or [[oxidized]] and is to be avoided.

=====Synonyms=====
* ''see also'' [[Thesaurus:hackneyed]]

=====Antonyms=====
* {{l|en|fresh}}

=====Derived terms=====
{{der4|en|stale-dated
|stale drunk
|stale-grown
|stale-mouthed
|stale read
|stale-smelling
|stale-worn
}}

=====Related terms=====
* {{l|en|go stale}}
* {{l|en|stale drunk}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|having lost its freshness}}
* Albanian: {{t+|sq|bajat}}
* Azerbaijani: {{t|az|bayat}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|баят}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|passat}}, {{t|ca|ranci}}, {{t+|ca|florit}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|陳腐|tr=chénfǔ}}
* Dutch: {{qualifier|bread}} {{t+|nl|oud}}, {{t+|nl|oudbakken}}, {{qualifier|general}} {{t+|nl|vervallen}}, {{qualifier|water}} {{t+|nl|brak}}, {{qualifier|air}} {{t+|nl|muf}}, {{t|nl|verschaald (beer)}}
* Esperanto: {{t|eo|malfreŝa}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|väljähtänyt}}, {{t|fi|ummehtunut}}, {{t+|fi|vanhentunut}}
* French: {{qualifier|bread}} {{t+|fr|rassis}}, {{qualifier|butter, oil, fat}} {{t+check|fr|rance}}, {{qualifier|water}} {{t+check|fr|croupi}}, {{qualifier|air}} {{t+check|fr|vicié}}, {{qualifier|especially clothes}} {{t+check|fr|défraîchi}}
* Galician: {{t|gl|reseso|m}}, {{t|gl|resésego}}, {{t+|gl|falmaguento}}, {{t|gl|manido}}, {{t|gl|pasado}}, {{t|gl|choco}}
* German: {{t+|de|abgestanden}}, {{t+|de|schal}}, {{t+|de|altbacken}} {{qualifier|of bread}}, {{t+|de|fade}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|μπαγιάτικος}}, {{t+|el|στάσιμος}}
*: Ancient Greek: {{t|grc|ἕωλος}}
* Hungarian: {{t+|hu|állott}}, {{t+|hu|áporodott}}, {{t+|hu|poshadt}}
* Icelandic: {{t|is|staðinn}}
* Indonesian: {{t+|id|basi}}
* Italian: {{qualifier|of food}} {{t+check|it|stantio}}, {{qualifier|of bread}} {{t+|it|raffermo}}, {{t+|it|ammuffito}}, {{t+|it|avariato}}, {{t+|it|rancido}}
* Japanese: {{t+|ja|古い|tr=ふるい, furui}}
* Khmer: {{t+|km|ចាស់}}
* Ladino: {{t|lad|bayat}}
* Malay: {{t+|ms|basi}} {{qualifier|of food}}
* Norman: {{t|nrf|raccourchi}}, {{t|nrf|mouaîsi}}
* Old English: {{t|ang|ealdbacen}}
* Persian: {{t+|fa|بیات|tr=bayât}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|czerstwy}}
* Portuguese: {{qualifier|of air and water}}: {{t+|pt|parado}}, {{t+|pt|estagnado}}; {{qualifier|of food}}: {{t+|pt|rançoso}}; {{qualifier|of bread}}: {{t+|pt|seco}}, {{t+|pt|velho}};
* Russian: {{t+|ru|несве́жий}}, {{t+|ru|чёрствый}} {{qualifier|bread}}, {{t+|ru|за́тхлый}}
* Spanish: {{qualifier|bread}} {{t+|es|duro}}, {{t+|es|revenido}}, {{qualifier|food}} {{t+|es|pasado}}, {{t+|es|rancio}}, {{qualifier|air}} {{t+|es|viciado}}, {{t+|es|alaste}}, {{t+|es|correoso}}, {{t+|es|endurecido}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|avslagen}}, {{t+|sv|däven}}
* Telugu: {{t|te|పాచిన}}, {{t+|te|వాడిన}}, {{t|te|వడలిన}}
* Thai: {{t-needed|th}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|bayat}}
* Tày: {{t|tyz|bốt}}, {{t|tyz|mên bốt}}, {{t|tyz|bút}}
* Vietnamese: {{t+|vi|thiu}}, {{t+|vi|ôi}}
* Walloon: {{t+|wa|passé|m}}, {{t+|wa|avancî|m}}, {{t+|wa|suri|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|no longer new or interesting}}
* Albanian: {{t+|sq|bajat}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|банален}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|gastat}}, {{t+|ca|passat}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|ouderwets}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|väljähtänyt}}, {{t+|fi|tympeä}}, {{t+|fi|kulunut}}
* French: {{t+|fr|vieilli|m}}, {{t+|fr|périmé|m}}, {{t+|fr|caduc|m}}, {{t+|fr|suranné|m}}, {{t+|fr|démodé}}
* German: {{t+|de|veraltet}}, {{t+check|de|abgedroschen}} {{gloss|joke}}, {{t+|de|ausgelutscht}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|ξεπερασμένος|m}}, {{t+|el|έωλος|m}}
* Hungarian: {{t+|hu|elcsépelt}}, {{t+|hu|ósdi}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|obsoleto}}, {{t+|it|sorpassato}}, {{t+|it|vecchio}}, {{t+|it|superato}}
* Japanese: {{t|ja|[[陳腐]]な|tr=ちんぷな, chinpu-na}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|estagnado}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|изби́тый}}, {{t+|ru|бана́льный}}, {{qualifier|informal|about joke or news}} {{t+|ru|борода́тый}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|manido}}, {{t+|es|anquilosado}}, {{t+|es|trillado}}, {{t+|es|manoseado|m}}, {{t+|es|gastado|m}}, {{t+|es|periclitado|m}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|passé}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|bayat}}
* Walloon: {{t+|wa|aviyi|m}}, {{t+|wa|forpassé|m}}, {{t|wa|ki l' tins a forcrexhou}} {{qualifier|periphrase}}, {{t+|wa|foû môde}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|colloquial}} [[something|Something]] stale; a [[loaf]] of [[bread]] or the like that is [[no]] [[longer]] [[fresh]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1874|author=w:Thomas Hardy|title=Far from the Madding Crowd|section=II iii 39
|passage=I went to Riggs's [[batty]]-cake shop, and asked 'em for a [[penneth]] of the cheapest and nicest '''stales''', that were all but blue-[[mouldy]], but not quite.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1937|author=w:George Orwell|title=Road to Wigan Pier|section=I i 15
|passage=Frayed-looking sweet-cakes...bought as ‘'''stales'''’ from the baker.}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|coscurro|m}}, {{t+|es|mendrugo|m}}, {{t|es|sequete|m}}, {{t|es|rosigón|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|of alcohol|obsolete|transitive}} To [[make]] stale; to [[age]] [[in order to]] [[clear]] and [[strengthen]] (a [[drink]], especially [[beer]]).
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1440|title=Promp. Parv.|section=472 1
|passage='''Stalyn''', or make stale drynke, ''defeco''.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1826|title=Art of Brewing|section=second edition, 106
|passage=A stock of old porter should be kept, sufficient for '''staling''' the consumption of twelve months.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[make]] stale; to [[cause]] to [[go]] [[out of fashion]] or [[currency]]; to [[diminish]] the [[novelty]] or [[interest]] of, [[particularly]] by [[excessive]] [[exposure]] or [[consumption]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1601|author=w:Ben Jonson|title=Fountaine of Self-love|section=36
|passage=[[I'll|Ile]] goe tell all the Argument of his Play aforehand, and so '''stale''' his Inuention to the Auditory before it come foorth.}}
#* {{RQ:Jonson Every Man in His Humour|act=I|scene=iv|text=Not content '''To stale''' himselfe in all societies, He makes my house as common as a Mart.}}
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra|act=II|scene=ii|line=241|text=Age cannot wither her, nor custome '''stale''' Her infinite variety.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1863|author=W. W. Story|title=Roba di Roma|section=I i 7
|passage=Pictures and statues '''have been staled''' by copy and description.}}
# {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[become]] stale; to [[grow]] [[odious]] from [[excessive]] [[exposure]] or [[consumption]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1717|author=E. Erskine|title=Serm. in Wks.|section=50 1
|passage=They have got so much of [[Christ]] as '''to be staled''' of his company.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1893|chapter=Q|title=Delectable Duchy|section=325
|passage=Philanthropy was beginning '''to stale'''.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1990|author=Stephen King|title={{w|The Moving Finger (short story)|The Moving Finger}}
|passage=Vi's penchant for puns had struck him as cute when he first met her, but it had '''staled''' somewhat over the years.}}
# {{lb|en|alcohol|intransitive}} To [[become]] stale; to [[grow]] [[unpleasant]] from [[age]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1742|author=W. Ellis|title=London & Country Brewer|edition=4th|section=I 64
|passage=The Drink from that Time flattens and '''stales'''.}}

=====Derived terms=====
* {{l|en|antistaling}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-see|of alcohol: to age|age}}

{{trans-top|to diminish the interest of by excessive exposure or consumption}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kyllästyttää}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kyllästyä}}
* Kyrgyz: {{t+|ky|катуу}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|черстветь}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|of alcohol: to grow unpleasant from age}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[mennä]] [[pilalle]]}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===Etymology 2===
{{root|en|ine-pro|*stel-}}
{{etymid|en|handle, shaft, stem}}
From {{inh|en|enm|stale}}, from {{inh|en|ang|stalu}}, from {{inh|en|gem-pro|*stalō|*stal-}}; compare {{m+|en|stell}} from this root. The development was paralleled by the [[ablaut]] which became {{m+|en|steal}}, from {{der|en|enm|stele}}, from {{der|en|ang|stela}}, from {{der|en|gem-pro|*stelaną|*stel-}}. Both are from the same {{der|en|ine-pro|-}} root {{m|ine-pro|*stel-|*stel-, *stol-|to place, establish}},<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, n. 2" & "v. 4".</ref> whence also {{cog|grc|στελεός|t=handle}}. See also {{m+|en|stele}}.

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# A [[long]], [[thin]] [[handle]] (of [[rake]]s, [[axe]]s, etc.)
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1742|author=W. Ellis|title=London & Country Brewer|edition=4th|section=I 61
|passage=In Case your Cask is a Butt,...have ready boiling...Water, which put in, and, with a long '''Stale''' and a little Birch fastened to its End, scrub the Bottom.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|date=February 4 1890|journal=Manchester Guardian|section=12 3
|passage=You came to me with the axe head in one hand and the '''stale''' in the other.}}
# {{lb|en|dialectal}} One of the [[post]]s or [[upright]]s of a [[ladder]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1887|author=W. D. Parish; et al|title=Kentish Dial.
|passage='''Stales''', the staves, or risings of a ladder, or the staves of a rack in a stable.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1891| title=The Nova Scotia Fruit Grower |author=T. E. Smith | page=72| passage=Fruit ladders should be provided beforehand. They differ from the ordinary ladder by having the bottom rungs a little longer and the top of the side '''stales''' meeting together so is to rest in the fork of a limb. }}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1971| title=Research Paper - Issues 141-155 |author=| page=7| passage=The zigzag determines the order of the currents from [1] which occur on the '''stales''' of the ladder and their relation with the currents from [0] which occur on the rungs and ringles between them.}}
# One of the [[rung]]s on a [[ladder]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1792| title=A Rod in Brine, or a tickler for T. Paine|author=Thomas Paine | page=16| passage=To begin then: not long before this paragraph was written, P fell into doze, and dreamt, he saw Jacob's ladder with one foot standing on the earth, the other reaching up into heaven. Dukes, Marquisses, and other Peers, fancy represented to him, as standing on the upper '''stales'''; on the middle ones, Knights and Baronets, and under them, a train of Esquires and Gentlemen, reaching to the bottom. }}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1834| title=A Circumstantial Narrative of the Wreck of the Rothsay |author=Joseph Adshead | page=236| passage=Mr. Marsden managed, by dint of swimming, to come in contact with the form, to which hemself and friend had previously fixed the cord and thrown overboard; but this, from its shape, would have proved, in all probability, but a doubtful means of escape, had he not, after a time, fallen in with a small ladder, which he affixed with the cord to the form, placing his leg between the '''stales''', and resting his body, sometimes at full length, when the breakers had fallen on the form.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1914| title=Archaeologia Cantiana - Volume 30 |author=| page=173| passage=The rental of the lands remained at these figures for many years, and the following extracts are examples of the payments made:— A.D. 1686, Utt, p<sup>d</sup> Thomas Rassel for a load of lime delivered to Smalhith Chappell 01₤ 11s. 0d. Itt . for a quire of paper 00₤ 00s. 06d. Itt . for a ladder for the use of the Chappel 33 '''stales''' long , at 2<sup>d</sup> y<sup>e</sup> '''stale''' 00₤ 05s. 6d. }}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1998| title=Tobacco Parish: A Collection of South Windsor's Memories|author=Barney Edward Daley | page=| passage=Ash was used for '''stales''' (ladder rungs). }}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=2014| title=Engel's England: Thirty-nine counties, one capital and one man|author=Matthew Engel | page=| passage=As a young man Mike Austen, a retired farmer now working as a guide at Brogdale, used to climb up a ladder with sixty ''''stales'''', or rungs – eight inches between each of them – to pick the cherries in his father's orchard with a basket tied to either his waist or the ladder. }}
# {{lb|en|botany|obsolete}} The [[stem]] of a [[plant]].
# The [[shaft]] of an [[arrow]], [[spear]], etc.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1553|translator=J. Brende|author=Q. Curtius Rufus|title=Hist.|section=IX
|passage=The [[surgeons|Surgians]] cut [[off|of]] the '''stale''' of that shaft in suche wise, that they moued not the heade that was [[within|wythin]] the fleshe.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1611|translator=G. Chapman|author=Homer|title=Iliad|section=IV 173
|passage=...seeing th'arrowes '''stale''' without.}}

=====Alternative forms=====
* {{l|en|stele}} {{qualifier|botanical, preferred}}
* {{l|en|steal}}, {{l|en|stele}} {{qualifier|dialectal}}
* {{l|en|steel}}, {{l|en|stail}} {{qualifier|archaic}}

=====Synonyms=====
* {{l|en|handle}} {{qualifier|grip of tools, generally}}
* {{l|en|haft}} {{qualifier|grip of tools, generally, and especially of axes}}
* {{l|en|helve}} {{qualifier|grip of tools, generally}}
* {{l|en|shaft}} (''body of arrows, spears, etc.'')
* {{l|en|snath}}, the shaft of a scythe
* {{l|en|stem}} {{qualifier|plants}}

=====Related terms=====
* {{l|en|stalk}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|long, thin handle}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|varsi}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|archery: shaft of an arrow}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|varsi}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive|obsolete}} To [[make]] a [[ladder]] by [[join]]ing [[rung]]s ("stales") between the [[post]]s.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1492|title=Archæol. Cant.|section=XVI 304
|passage=For '''stalyng''' of the ladders of the Churche [[twenty|xx]] [[old penny|d]].}}

===Etymology 3===
From {{inh|en|enm|stale}}, from {{der|en|fro|estal||place, something placed}} (compare {{cog|fr|étal}}), from {{der|en|frk||stal}},<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, n. 4", "n. 6", "v. 3", and "adj. 2".</ref> from {{der|en|gem-pro|*stallaz}}, earlier {{m|gem-pro||*staþlaz}}. Related to {{m|en|stall}} and {{m|en|stand}}.

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|military|obsolete}} A [[fixed]] [[position]], [[particularly]] a [[soldier]]'s in a [[battle-line]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1550| title=The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke|author=Edward Halle | page=| passage=Wherefore they had a great avauntage, but in coclusion thie french menne were slayne, and their horses taken, and so the lyght horsement came wyth their catail, nere to the embushment, and the frenchimen folowed, that seyng the englyshmen that kept the '''stale''', came in al hast & rescued their light horsemen, and draue the frenchemen backe, & then made returne to their beastes}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1808| title=Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland|author=Raphael Holinshed | page=580| passage=All these in great hast came to Newnam bridge, where they found other Englishmen that had woone the bridge of the Frenchmen, and so all togither set foward to assaile the Frenchmen that kept the '''stale''', and tarie till the residue of their companie which were gone a forraging vnto Calis walles were come: for the other that had spoiled the marishes were returned with a great bootie.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1818| title=Practical Chess Exercises|author=William Stopford Kenny | page=205| passage=You cannot take the queen without giving a '''stale''', therefore you lose the game.}}
# {{lb|en|chess|uncommon}} A [[stalemate]]; a [[stalemate]]d [[game]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1625|author=w:Francis Bacon|title=Essays|section=65
|passage=They stand at a stay; Like a '''Stale''' at Chesse, where it is no Mate, but yet the Game cannot stirre.}}
# {{lb|en|military|obsolete}} An [[ambush]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1513|translator=G. Douglas|author=Virgil|title=Æneid|section=XI x 96
|passage=It is a stelling place and sovir harbry, Quhar ost in '''staill''' or embuschment may [[lie|ly]].}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|year=1577|author=R. Holinshed|journal=Chron|section=II 1479 2
|passage=The [[earl|erle]] of Essex...with [[two|.ii.]] [[hundred|C]]. speares was layde in a '''stale''', if the Frenchmen had come [[nearer|neerer]].}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} A [[band]] of [[armed]] [[men]] or [[hunter]]s.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1540|translator=J. Bellenden|author=H. Boece|title=Hyst. & Cron. Scotl.|section=XII xvi 184
|passage=The '''staill''' [[passed|past]] [[through|throw]] the [[wood|wod]] with [[such|sic]] [[noise|noyis]]...[[that|yat]] all the [[beasts|bestis]] [[were|wer]] [[raised|rasit]] [[from|fra]] [[their|thair]] [[dens|dennys]].}}
#* '''1577''', R. Holinshed, ''Hist. Scotl.'', 471 2 in ''Chron.'', I:
#*: The Lard of Drunlanrig lying [[all|al]] [[this|thys]] while in ambush...forbare to breake out to [[give|gyue]] anye charge [[upon|vppon]] his enimies, doubting least the Earle of Lennox hadde kept a '''stale''' [[behind|behynde]].
# {{lb|en|Scottish|military|obsolete}} The [[main]] [[force]] of an [[army]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1532|year_published=1836|title=State Papers Henry VIII|section=IV 626
|passage=Neveryeles I knaw asweill by Englisemen as Scottishmen that their '''stale''' was no les then thre thowsand men.}}

=====Derived terms=====
{{der-top}}
* {{l|en|hold one's stale}}
* {{l|en|in stale}}
* {{l|en|flying stale}}
{{der-bottom}}

====Adjective====
{{en-adj|-}}

# {{lb|en|chess|obsolete}} At a [[standstill]]; [[stalemate]]d.
#* {{circa|1470}}, Ashmolean MS 344, 21:
#*: Then drawith he & is '''stale'''.

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|chess|uncommon|transitive}} To [[stalemate]].
#* {{circa|1470}}, ''Ashmole'' MS 344, 7:
#*: He shall '''stale''' [[the|þe]] black kyng in the pointe þer the crosse standith.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1903|author=H. J. R. Murray|title=Brit. Chess. Mag.|section=283
|passage=In China, however, a player who '''stales''' his opponent's King, wins the game.}}
# {{lb|en|chess|obsolete|intransitive}} To be [[stalemate]]d.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1597|author=A. Montgomerie|title=Cherrie & Slae|section=202
|passage=For [[under|vnder]] cuire I got sik check, that I [[might|micht]] neither muife<!--muise?--> nor neck, [[but|bot]] [[either|ather]] '''stale''' or [[mate|mait]].}}

===Etymology 4===
Noun from {{inh|en|enm|stale}}, from {{der|en|xno|estal|t=urine}}, from {{der|en|dum|stal|t=urine}}. Cognate with {{cog|gml|stal|t=horse urine; bowel movement}}. Verb from {{inh|en|enm|stalen}}, from {{der|en|fro|estaler|t=urinate}}, related to {{cog|gmh|stallen||to piss}}.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, n. 5" and "v. 1".</ref>

====Noun====
{{en-noun|-}}

# {{lb|en|livestock|obsolete}} [[urine|Urine]], [[especially]] [[used]] of [[horse]]s and [[cattle]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1535|translator=w:Miles Coverdale|author=the {{w|Bible}}|title=Isaiah|section=XXXVI.100
|passage={{...}}That they be not compelled to eate their owne [[dung|donge]], and drinke their owne '''stale''' with you?}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1548|author=Robert Record|title=Vrinal of Physick|section=XI.89
|passage=The '''stale''' of [[camel|Camel]]s and Goats{{...}}is good for them that have the [[dropsy|dropsie]].}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1583|author=B. Melbancke|title=Philotimus
|passage=Or [[annoint]] [[thyself|thy selfe]] with the '''stale''' of a mule.}}
#* {{RQ:Montaigne Florio Essayes|chapter=48|book=I|passage=Those of ''Crotta'' being hardly besieged by ''Metellus'', were reduced to so hard a pinch, and strait necessitie of all manner of other beverage, that they were forced to drinke the '''stale''' or urine of their horses.}}
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra|I|iv|line=62|text=Thou did'st drinke The '''stale''' of Horses.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1698|author=J. Fryer|title=New Acct. E.-India & Persia|page=242
|passage=Mice and Weasels by their poysonous '''Stale''' infect the Trees so, that they produce Worms.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1733|author=W. Ellis|title=Chiltern & Vale Farming|page=122
|passage=Sheep, whose Dung and '''Stale''' is of most Virtue in the Nourishment of all Trees.}}

=====Hypernyms=====
* ''See'' [[Thesaurus:urine]]

=====Derived terms=====
{{der-top}}
* {{l|en|to have a rod in stale}}
* {{l|en|blood-stale}}
* {{l|en|stale-foul}}
{{der-bottom}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|livestock|obsolete|intransitive}} To [[urinate]], [[especially]] [[used]] of [[horse]]s and [[cattle]].
#* '''15th century''', ''Lawis Gild'', X in ''Ancient Laws and Customs of the Burghs of Scotland'', 68:
#*: Gif ony '''stal''' in the yet of the gilde...he [[shall|sall]] [[give|gif]] [[four|iiij]][[old penny|d]]. to the mendis.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1530|author=w:John Palsgrave|url=http://books.google.fr/books?id=8asFAAAAQAAJ|title=L'éclaircissement de la langue française|section=732 1
|passage=Tary a whyle, your hors wyll '''staale'''.}}
#* {{RQ:Jonson Bartholomew Fair|iv|8|i|passage=Why a pox o' your boxe, once againe: let your little wife '''stale''' in it, and she will.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1663|author=T. Killigrew|title=Parson's Wedding|section=I iii
|passage=I wonder [the knight's son] doth not go on all four too, and hold up his Leg when he '''stales'''.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1903|author=w:Rudyard Kipling|title=Five Nations|section=150
|passage=Cattle-dung where fuel failed; Water where the mules had '''staled'''; And sackcloth for their raiment.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1920|author=w:Aleister Crowley|title=Leigh Sublime
|passage=You '''stale''' like a mare<br>And fart as you '''stale'''}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1928|author=w:Siegfried Sassoon|title=Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man|page=35|publisher=Penguin|year_published=2013
|passage=A mile or two before we got to the meet he stopped at an inn, where he put our horses into the stable for twenty minutes, ‘to give them a chance to '''stale'''’.}}

=====Usage notes=====
Occasionally transitive, when in reference to horses or men [[piss]]ing [[blood]].

=====Hypernyms=====
* ''See'' [[Thesaurus:urinate]]

=====See also=====
* {{l|en|piss like a racehorse}} {{qualifier|vulgar idiom}}

===Etymology 5===
From {{inh|en|enm|stale|t=bird used as a decoy}}, probably from uncommon {{der|en|xno|estale||pigeon used to lure hawks}}, ultimately from {{der|en|gem-pro|-}}, probably {{m|gem-pro|*standaną||to stand}}. Compare {{cog|ang|stælhran||decoy [[reindeer]]}} and Northumbrian {{m|ang|stællo|t=catching fish}}.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, n. 3" & "v. 5".</ref>

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|falconry|hunting|obsolete}} A [[live]] [[bird]] to [[lure]] [[birds of prey]] or [[others]] of its [[kind]] into a [[trap]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1579|author=w:Thomas North|title=Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans|chapter=Sylla|section=515
|passage=Like vnto the fowlers, that by their '''stales''' draw other birdes into their nets.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1608|translator=R. Tofte|author=w:Ludovico Ariosto|title=Satyres|section=IV 56
|passage=A wife thats more then faire is like a '''stale''', Or chanting whistle which brings birds to thrall.}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} Any [[lure]], [[particularly]] in [[reference]] to [[people]] [[used]] as [[live]] [[bait]].
#* {{circa|1529}}, "{{w|The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng}}", 324, in {{w|John Skelton}}, ''Certayne Bokes'':
#*: She ran in all the [[haste|hast]]<br>[[unbraced|Vnbrased]] and [[unlaced|vnlast]]...<br>It was a '''stale''' to take<br>the [[devil|deuyll]] in a brake.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1577|author=w:Raphael Holinshed|title=Chronicles|chapter=The Historie of England, from the Time that It Was First Inhabited, Vntill the Time that It Was Last Conquered|section=79 2
|passage=The [[Britons|Britaynes]] woulde oftentimes...lay their [[cattle|Cattell]]...in places [[convenient|conueniente]], to bee as a '''stale''' to the [[Romans|Romaynes]], and when the Romaynes shoulde make to them to fetche the same away,...they would fall vpon them.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1579|author=J. Stubbs|title=Discouerie Gaping Gulf|passage=Her daughter Margerit was the '''stale''' to lure...them that otherwise flewe hyghe...and could not be gotten.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1615|author=w:George Sandys|title=A Relation of a Iourney begun An: Dom: 1610|section=I 66
|passage=...many of the [[coffeemen|Coffamen]] keeping beaytifull boyes, who ſerue as '''ſtales''' to procure them cuſtomers.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1670|author=J. Eachard|title=Grounds Contempt of Clergy|section=88
|passage=Six-pence or a shilling to put into the [[poor box|Box]], for a '''stale''' to decoy in the rest of the Parish.}}
# {{lb|en|crime|obsolete}} An [[accomplice]] of a [[thief]] or [[criminal]] [[acting]] as [[bait]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1526|author=W. Bonde|title=Pylgrimage of Perfection|section=III
|passage=Their mynisters, be false [[brethren|bretherne]] or false [[sistren|sustern]], '''stales''' of the [[devil|deuyll]].}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1633|author=S. Marmion|title=Fine Compan.|section=III iv
|passage=This is Captain Whibble, the Towne '''stale''', For all cheating imployments.}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} a [[partner]] [[whose]] [[beloved]] [[abandon]]s or [[torment]]s him [[in favor of]] [[another]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1578|author=J. Lyly|title=Euphues|section=33
|passage=I perceiue Lucilla (sayd he) that I was made thy '''stale''', and Philautus thy [[laughing stock|laughinge stocke]].}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1588|author=T. Hughes|title=Misfortunes Arthur|section=I ii 3
|passage=Was I then chose and wedded for his '''stale'''?}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1611|author=T. Middleton; et al|title=Roaring Girle
|passage=Did I for this [[lose|loose]] all my friends...to be made A '''stale''' to a common whore?}}
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Comedy of Errors|II|i|line=100|text=But, too vnruly Deere, he breakes the [[pale]] And feedes from home; poore I am but his '''stale'''.}}
#* {{RQ:Beaumont Fletcher Comedies and Tragedies|The Little French Lawyer|III|iv|text=This comes of [[rutting]]: Are we made '''stales''' to one another?}}
# {{lb|en|obsolete}} A [[patsy]], a [[pawn]], [[someone]] [[used]] [[under]] [[some]] [[false]] [[pretext]] to [[forward]] [[another]]'s ([[usually|usu]]. [[sinister]]) [[designs]]; a [[stalking horse]].
#* '''1580''', E. Grindal in 1710, J. Strype, ''Hist. E. Grindal'', 252:
#*: That of the two nominated, one should be an unfit Man, and as it were a '''Stale''', to bring the Office to the other.
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Henry 6-3|III|iii|line=260|text=Had he none else to make a '''stale''' but me?}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1614|author=W. Raleigh|title=Hist. World|section=I iv iii §19 239
|passage=Eurydice...meaning nothing lesse than to let her husband serue as a '''Stale''', keeping the throne warme till another were growne old enough to sit in it.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1711|author=J. Puckle|title=Club|section=20
|passage=A pretence of kindness is the universal '''stale''' to all base projects.}}
# {{lb|en|crime|obsolete}} A [[prostitute]] of the [[lowest]] [[sort]]; any [[wanton]] [[woman]].
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing|II|ii|line=23|text=Spare not to tell him, that he hath wronged his honor in marrying the renowned Claudio...to a contaminated '''stale'''.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1606|author=S. Daniel|title=Queenes Arcadia|section=II i
|passage=But to be [[left|leaft]] for such a one as she, The '''stale''' of all, what will folke thinke of me?}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=c. 1641|author=[[w:Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu|Ralph Montagu]]|title=Acts & Monuments|section=265
|passage=...detesting as he said the insatiable impudency of a prostitute '''Stale'''.}}
# {{lb|en|hunting|obsolete}} [[any|Any]] [[decoy]], either [[stuffed]] or [[manufactured]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1681|author=J. Flavell|title=Method of Grace|section=XXXV 588
|passage='Tis the living bird that makes the best '''stale''' to draw others into the net.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1888|author=G. M. Fenn|title=Dick o' the Fens|section=53
|passage=If my live birds aren't all drownded and my '''stales''' spoiled.}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|rare|obsolete|transitive}} To [[serve]] as a [[decoy]], to [[lure]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1557|title=Tottel's Misc.|section=198
|passage=The eye...Doth serue '''to stale''' her here and there where she doth come and go.}}

===References===
<references/>

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|en|a=aelst|setal|steal|ETLAs|tesla|telas|Astle|tales|least|Tesla|salet|slate|Teals|stela|astel|Slate|Sleat|lates|leats|'least|laste|teals|taels}}

==Friulian==

===Etymology===
Of {{der|fur|gem}} origin, ultimately from {{der|fur|gem-pro|*stallaz}}. Compare {{cog|rm|stalla}}, {{m|rm|stala}}, {{cog|it|stalla}}, {{cog|vec|stała}}.

===Noun===
{{fur-noun|f|pl=stalis}}

# [[cowshed]]
# [[stable]], [[stall]]
# [[pigsty]]

====Synonyms====
* {{sense|cowshed}} {{l|fur|vacjarìe}}

==Middle English==

===Etymology 1===
From {{bor|enm|xno|estal|t=urine}}.

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/staːl/|/stal/}}

====Noun====
{{enm-noun|-}}

# {{lb|enm|Late ME|hapax}} [[urine]]
#* '''14th c.''', Stockh. Medical MS. in ''Anglia'' XVIII.299:
#*: {{quote|enm|In werd ben men & women{{...}}þat þer '''stale''' mown not holde.}}

=====Descendants=====
* {{desc|en|stale#Etymology 4}}
* {{desc|yol|sthall}}

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stā̆le|pos=n.(1)|id=MED42576}}

===Etymology 2===
From {{inh|enm|ang|stalu||theft}}, from {{der|enm|gem-pro|*stalō}}.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Stale, n. 1".</ref>

====Alternative forms====
* {{alter|enm|stala||early}}

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/ˈstaːl(ə)/}}

====Noun====
{{enm-noun}}

# [[theft]]; the [[act]] of [[stealing]]
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=1340|title=Ayenbite|section=9
|passage=Ine þise heste is vorbode roberie, þiefþe, '''stale''', and gavel.}}
# [[stealth]] {{qualifier|[[used]] in the [[phrase]] ''bi stale''}}
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=c. 1240|chapter=Sawles Warde|title=Cott. Hom.|section=249
|passage=Hire wune is to cumen bi '''stale'''...hwen me least cweneð.}}

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāle|pos=n.(2)|id=MED42577}}
<references/>

===Etymology 3===
From {{inh|enm|ang|stalu|t=a piece of wood into which a harp-string is fixed}}.

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/ˈstaːl(ə)/}}

====Noun====
{{enm-noun|stales}}

# An [[upright]] of a ladder.
# A [[rung]] in a ladder; [[tier]].
# The [[post]]s and [[rung]]s [[composing]] a [[ladder]].
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=c. 1315|title=Shoreham Poems|section=I 49
|passage=Þis ilke laddre is charite, Þe '''stales''' gode þeawis.}}
# A [[long]], [[thin]] [[handle]] (of [[rake]]s, [[axe]]s, etc.)
#* '''12th century''', ''Sidonius Glosses'' in ''Anecd. Oxon.'', I v 59 22:
#*: {{quote|enm|Ansae et ansulae alicuius rei sunt illa eminentia in illa re per quam capi possit .i. ‘'''stale'''’.}}
#* {{circa|1393}}, Langland, ''Piers Plowman'' (Vesp. MS), C xxii 279:
#*: {{quote|enm|And lerede men a ladel bygge with a long '''stale'''.}}
# A [[shoot]] of a plant.

=====Related terms=====
* {{l|enm|stele}}

=====Descendants=====
* {{desc|en|stale#Etymology_2}}

====References====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāle|pos=n.(3)|id=MED42578}}

===Etymology 4===
{{bor+|enm|fro|estal}}, from {{der|enm|frk||stal}}, from {{der|enm|gem-pro|*stallaz}}, earlier {{m|gem-pro||*staþlaz}}.

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/staːl/}}

====Noun====
{{head|enm|noun}}

# a [[fixed]] [[position]], [[particularly]] a [[soldier]]'s in a [[battle-line]]
#* {{circa|1450}}, in C. L. Kingsford, ''Chrons. London'' (1905), 123:
#*: {{quote|enm|And at pavelen...[[the|þe]] [[earl|Erle]] of [[Dorset|Dorzet]] [[held|helde]] [[his|is]] '''stale''', and [[there|þer]] he [[took|toke]] prisoners.}}
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=1485|author=w:Thomas Malory|title=Le Morte d'Arthur|section=V xi 179
|passage=And [[sir|syr]] Florence with his [[hundred|C]] [[knights|knyghtes]] [[always|alwey]] [[kept]]e the '''stale''' and foughte manly.}}
# {{lb|enm|chess}} A [[stalemate]]; a [[stalemate]]d [[game]].
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=1423|title=Kingis Quair|section=CLXIX
|passage=‘Off mate?’ quod sche...‘thou has fundin '''stale''' This mony day’.}}
# an [[ambush]]
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=c. 1425|title=Wyntoun Cron.|section=IX viii 811
|passage=And he in '''stale''' howyd al stil.}}
# a [[band]] of [[armed]] [[men]] or [[hunter]]s
#* {{circa|1350}}, in N. H. Nicolas, ''Hist. Royal Navy'' (1847), II 491:
#*: {{quote|enm|[Every time that it shall be ordered..that armed men..shall land on the enemy's coast to seek victuals... then there shall be ordained a sufficient ‘'''stale'''’ of armed men and archers who shall wait together on the land until the ‘forreiours’ return to them].}}
#* '''14th century''', ''Morte Arthur'', 1355:
#*: {{quote|enm|[Gawayne] sterttes owtte to hys stede, and with his '''stale''' wendes.}}

=====Descendants=====
* {{desc|en|stale#Etymology 3}}

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāle|pos=n.(5)|id=MED42580}}

===Etymology 5===
Probably from uncommon {{bor|enm|xno|estale||pigeon used to lure hawks}}, ultimately from {{der|enm|gem-pro|-}}, probably {{m|gem-pro|*standaną||to stand}}.

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/ˈstaːl(ə)/}}

====Noun====
{{head|enm|noun}}

# {{lb|enm|falconry|hunting}} A [[live]] [[bird]] to [[lure]] [[birds of prey]] or [[others]] of its [[kind]] into a [[trap]]
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=c. 1440|title=Promp. Parv.|section=472 1
|passage='''Stale''', of fowlynge or byrdys takynge, ''stacionaria''.}}

=====Descendants=====
* {{desc|en|stale#Etymology 5}}

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāl(e|pos=n.(4)|id=MED42579}}

===Etymology 6===
{{bor+|enm|fro|estale||settled, clear}}, probably connected to {{der|enm|gem-pro|*stāną|t=to stand}}.
{{etymid|enm|clear}}

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/ˈstaːl(ə)/}}

====Adjective====
{{head|enm|adjective}}

# {{lb|enm|alcohol}} [[clear]], [[free]] of [[dreg]]s and [[lee]]s; [[old]] and [[strong]]
#* {{circa|1300}}, ''K. Horn'' (Laud), 383:
#*: {{quote|enm|Bi forn þe king abenche Red win to schenche And after mete '''stale''' Boþe win and ale.}}
#* {{quote-text|enm|year=c. 1386|author=w:Geoffrey Chaucer|title=Sir Thopas|section=52
|passage=Notemuge to putte in ale, Whether it be moyste or '''stale'''}}

=====Descendants=====
* {{desc|en|stale#Etymology 1}}

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāl(e|pos=adj.(1)|id=MED42581}}

===Etymology 7===
From {{m|enm|stale||stalemate}} or {{m|enm|stalen||to stalemate}}.

====Pronunciation====
* {{IPA|enm|/ˈstaːl(ə)/}}

====Adjective====
{{head|enm|adjective}}

# {{lb|enm|hapax}} Stalemated in chess.

=====References=====
* {{R:MED Online|entry=stāle|pos=adj.(2)|id=MED42582}}

==Old Polish==

===Etymology===
From {{af|zlw-opl|stały|-e}}. {{etydate|1484}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{zlw-opl-IPA}}

===Adverb===
{{zlw-opl-adv}}

# {{lb|zlw-opl|attested in|Lesser Poland}} [[always]], [[persistently]]
#* {{RQ:zlw-opl:Reg|705|1484|Chcze, aby ony tho yego synovye, thą tho vyarą '''zsthalye''' vyznavaly a mocznye trzymaly|Chce, aby oni to jego synowie, tę to wiarę '''stale''' wyznawali a mocnie trzymali|-}}

====Descendants====
* {{desc|pl|stale|id=adverb}}
* {{desc|szl|stale}}

===References===
* {{R:zlw-opl:SPJSP}}

==Polish==

===Pronunciation===
{{pl-pr|a=Pl-stale.ogg|mp=#}}

===Etymology 1===
{{etymid|pl|adverb}}
{{inh+|pl|zlw-opl|stale}}. {{surf|pl|stały|-e}}. Compare {{cog|csb|stale}}.

====Adverb====
{{pl-adv|-}}

# [[constantly]], [[continually]]
#: {{syn|pl|bez ustanku|bezustannie|ciągle|furt|na okrągło|nieprzerwanie|nieustająco|nieustannie|ustawicznie|wciąż|wiecznie|zawsze}}
#: {{ant|pl|nigdy}}
# {{lb|pl|obsolete}} [[permanently]], [[for good]]
#: {{syn|pl|na dobre|na stałe}}
# {{lb|pl|obsolete}} [[decidedly]]
#: {{syn|pl|stanowczo}}

===Etymology 2===
{{nonlemma}}

====Noun====
{{head|pl|noun form}}

# {{inflection of|pl|stal||nom//acc//voc|p}}

===Trivia===
{{pl-freq 1990|20|4|25|10|8|67|974|556|2}}

===References===
{{reflist}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:pl:WSJP||23423}}
* {{R:pl:PWN}}
* {{R:pl:SXVI|+|13785}}
* {{R:pl:SJP1807}}
* {{R:pl:SJP1861}}
* {{R:pl:SJP1900||385|6}}
* {{R:pl:NFJP}}

{{cln|pl|duration adverbs}}

==Silesian==

===Etymology===
{{inh+|szl|zlw-opl|stały}}. {{surf|szl|stały|-e}}.

===Pronunciation===
{{szl-pr}}

===Adverb===
{{szl-adv|-}}

# [[constantly]], [[continually]]

===Further reading===
* {{R:szl:silling}}