stall

pronunciation

How to pronounce stall in British English: UK [stɔːl] word uk audio image

How to pronounce stall in American English: US [stɔːl] word us audio image

Noun:

a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed
small area set off by walls for special use
a booth where articles are displayed for sale
a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge
small individual study area in a library
a tactic used to mislead or delay
Verb:

postpone doing what one should be doing
come to a stop
deliberately delay an event or action
put into, or keep in, a stall
experience a stall in flight, of airplanes
cause an airplane to go into a stall
cause an engine to stop

Word Origin

stall: stall: Stall ‘compartment, booth, etc’ [OE] and stall ‘stop’ [15] are distinct words, but they have a common ancestor, in prehistoric Germanic *stal-, *stel- ‘position’ (source of English still). This in turn was formed from the base *sta- ‘stand’, which also produced English stand. From *stal- was derived the noun *stallaz ‘standing-place (for an animal)’, which has given German, Swedish, and English stall, Dutch stal, and Danish stald.A stallion [14] is etymologically a horse kept in a ‘stall’ for breeding purposes. And stable represents a parallel Latin formation to the Germanic stall (it has become specialized to a ‘building for horses’, whereas stall developed to ‘standingplace for a single animal’). The same Germanic base produced Frankish *stal ‘position’, which formed the basis of Old French estaler ‘halt’, source of the English verb stall, and also of English stale and stalemate.=> stale, stallion, stand, still

stall (n.1): "place in a stable for animals," Old English steall "standing place, position, state; place where cattle are kept, fishing ground," from Proto-Germanic *stalla- (cognates: Old Norse stallr "pedestal for idols, altar; crib, manger," Old Frisian stal, Old High German stall "stand, place, stable, stall," German Stall "stable," Stelle "place"), from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand," with derivatives referring to a standing object or place (cognates: Greek stele "standing block, slab," stellein "to set in order, arrange, array, equip, make ready;" Latin stolidus "insensible, dull, brutish," properly "unmovable"). Meaning "partially enclosed seat in a choir" is attested from c. 1400; that of "urinal in a men's room" is from 1967. Several meanings, including that of "a stand for selling" (mid-13c., implied in stallage), probably are from (or influenced by) Anglo-French and Old French estal "station, position; stall of a stable; stall in a market; a standing still; a standing firm" (12c., Modern French étal "butcher's stall"). This, along with Italian stallo "place," stalla "stable" is a borrowing from a Germanic source from the same root as the native English word.

stall (n.2): "pretense or evasive story to avoid doing something," 1812, from earlier sense "thief's assistant" (1590s, also staller), from a variant of stale "bird used as a decoy to lure other birds" (mid-15c.), from Anglo-French estale "decoy, pigeon used to lure a hawk" (13c., compare stool pigeon), literally "standstill," from Old French estal "place, stand, stall," from Frankish *stal- "position," ultimately from Germanic and cognate with Old English steall (see stall (n.1)). Compare Old English stælhran "decoy reindeer," German stellvogel "decoy bird." Figurative sense of "deception, means of allurement" is first recorded 1520s. Also see stall (v.2). The stallers up are gratified with such part of the gains acquired as the liberality of the knuckling gentlemen may prompt them to bestow. [J.H. Vaux, "Flash Dictionary," 1812]

stall (v.2): 1590s, "distract a victim and thus screen a pickpocket from observation," from stall (n.2) "decoy." Meaning "to precaricate, be evasive, play for time" is attested from 1903. Related: Stalled; stalling. Compare old slang stalling ken "house for receiving stolen goods" (1560s).

stall (v.1): "to come to a stand" (intransitive), c. 1400; "to become stuck or be set fast," mid-15c., from Old French estale or Old English steall (see stall (n.1)). Transitive sense "place in office, install" is 14c.; specifically "place an animal in a stall" (late 14c.). Of engines or engine-powered vehicles, it is attested from 1904 (transitive), 1914 (intransitive); of aircraft "to lose lift," 1910. Related: Stalled; stalling.

stall (n.3): "action of losing lift, power, or motion," 1918 of aircraft, 1959 of automobile engines, from stall (v.1).

4. Kampala , uganda : a woman inspects the remains of her stall at owino market .