stale
stale (stāl)
adjective staler stal′er, stalest stal′·est
- having lost freshness; made musty, dry, bad, etc. by having been kept too long; specif.,
- flat; vapid; tasteless stale beer
- hard and dry: said of bread, etc.
- low in oxygen content; stagnant stale air
- having lost originality or newness; lacking in interest through familiarity or overuse; hackneyed; trite a stale joke, stale gossip
- out of condition, ineffective, enervated, bored, etc. from either too much or too little activity
- Law having lost legal force or effect through lack of use or action, as a claim or lien
Etymology: ME, prob. via Anglo-Norm < OFr estale, quiet, stagnant < Gmc *stall: for IE base see still
stale (stāl)
intransitive verb staled, staling stal′·ing
Etymology: ME, akin to MLowG stal, urine < IE base *(s)tel-, to let flow, urinate > Gr stalassein, to drip, telma, puddle
noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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