stale

pronunciation

How to pronounce stale in British English: UK [steɪl] word uk audio image

How to pronounce stale in American English: US [steɪl] word us audio image

Verb:

urinate, of cattle and horses
Adjective:

showing deterioration from age
lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new
no longer new; uninteresting

Word Origin

stale: stale: [13] Something that is stale has etymologically been allowed to ‘stand’ – so that it is no longer fresh. The word comes from Old French estale ‘stationary’, a derivative of estaler ‘halt’ (from which English gets the verb stall). And this in turn goes back ultimately to the prehistoric Germanic base *sta- ‘stand’. Stale originally denoted wine, beer, etc that had ‘stood’ long enough for the sediment to clear (‘If mead is well sod [boiled] and stale it is liking to the taste’, John de Trevisa, De proprietatibus rerum 1398), and it was not until the early 16th century that derogatory connotations of lack of freshness began to creep in.=> stall, stand

stale (adj.): early 13c., "freed from dregs or lees" (of ale, wine, etc.), probably literally "having stood long enough to clear," ultimately from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet); probably via Old French estal "placed, fixed position," from Frankish *stal- "position" (see stall (n.1)). Cognate with Middle Dutch stel "stale" (of beer and old urine). Originally a desirable quality (in beer and wine); the meaning "not fresh" is first recorded late 15c. Figurative sense (of immaterial things) "old and trite, hackneyed" is recorded from 1560s. As a noun, "that which has become tasteless by exposure," hence "a prostitute" (in Shakespeare, etc.). Related: Staleness.

3. This caused them to pay more attention to what they were eating and so ate much less stale popcorn .

4. Fresh thinking , instead of stale arguments , has rarely been so badly needed .

5. In the dream he knew that the cake was stale and poisoned but he didn 't want to upset her .