Chapter 95

Stay, n. [Cf. OF. estai, F. étai support, and E. stay a rope to support a mast.] 1. That which serves as a prop; a support. "My only strength and stay." Milton.

Trees serve as so many stays for their vines.

Addison.

Lord Liverpool is the single stay of this ministry.

Coleridge.

2. pl. A corset stiffened with whalebone or other material, worn by women, and rarely by men.

How the strait stays the slender waist constrain.

Gay.

3. Continuance in a place; abode for a space of time; sojourn; as, you make a short stay in this city.

Make haste, and leave thy business and thy care; No mortal interest can be worth thy stay.

Dryden.

Embrace the hero and his stay implore.

Waller.

4. Cessation of motion or progression; stand; stop.

Made of sphere metal, never to decay Until his revolution was at stay.

Milton.

Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a stay.

Hayward.

5. Hindrance; let; check. [Obs.]

They were able to read good authors without any stay, if the book were not false.

Robynson (more's Utopia).

6. Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. [Obs.] "Not grudging that thy lust hath bounds and stays." Herbert.

The wisdom, stay, and moderation of the king.

Bacon.

With prudent stay he long deferred The rough contention.

Philips.

7. (Engin.) Strictly, a part in tension to hold the parts together, or stiffen them.

Stay bolt (Mech.), a bolt or short rod, connecting opposite plates, so as to prevent them from being bulged out when acted upon by a pressure which tends to force them apart, as in the leg of a steam boiler. -- Stay busk, a stiff piece of wood, steel, or whalebone, for the front support of a woman's stays. Cf. Busk. -- Stay rod, a rod which acts as a stay, particularly in a steam boiler.

Stayed (?), a. Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid. Bacon. Pope.

Stayed"ly, adv. Staidly. See Staidly. [R.]

Stayed"ness, n. 1. Staidness. [Archaic] W. Whately.

2. Solidity; weight. [R.] Camden.

Stay"er (?), n. One who upholds or supports that which props; one who, or that which, stays, stops, or restrains; also, colloquially, a horse, man, etc., that has endurance, an a race.

Stay"lace` (?), n. A lace for fastening stays.

Stay"less, a. Without stop or delay. Mir. for Mag.

Stay"mak`er (?), n. One whose occupation is to make stays.

Stay"nil (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European starling. [Prov. Eng.]

Stay"sail` (?), n. (Naut.) Any sail extended on a stay.

Stay"ship` (?), n. (Zoöl.) A remora, -- fabled to stop ships by attaching itself to them.

Stead (?), n. [OE. stede place, AS. stede; akin to LG. & D. stede, OS. stad, stedi, OHG. stat, G. statt, stätte, Icel. staðr, Dan. sted, Sw. stad, Goth. sta&?;s, and E. stand. √163. See Stand, and cf. Staith, Stithy.] 1. Place, or spot, in general. [Obs., except in composition.] Chaucer.

Fly, therefore, fly this fearful stead anon.

Spenser.

2. Place or room which another had, has, or might have. "Stewards of your steads." Piers Plowman.

In stead of bounds, he a pillar set.

Chaucer.

3. A frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead. [R.]

The genial bed, Sallow the feet, the borders, and the stead.

Dryden.

4. A farmhouse and offices. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

The word is now commonly used as the last part of a compound; as, farmstead, homestead, readstead, etc.

In stead of, in place of. See Instead. -- To stand in stead, or To do stead, to be of use or great advantage.

The smallest act . . . shall stand us in great stead.

Atterbury.

Here thy sword can do thee little stead.

Milton.

Stead, v. t. 1. To help; to support; to benefit; to assist.

Perhaps my succour or advisement meet, Mote stead you much your purpose to subdue.

Spenser.

It nothing steads us To chide him from our eaves.

Shak.

2. To fill place of. [Obs.] Shak.

Stead"fast (?), a. [Stead + fast, that is, fast in place.] [Written also stedfast.] 1. Firmly fixed or established; fast fixed; firm. "This steadfast globe of earth." Spenser.

2. Not fickle or wavering; constant; firm; resolute; unswerving; steady. "Steadfast eye." Shak.

Abide steadfast unto him [thy neighbor] in the time of his trouble.

Ecclus. xxii. 23.

Whom resist steadfast in the faith.

1 Pet. v. 9.

Stead"fast*ly, adv. In a steadfast manner; firmly.

Steadfast believe that whatever God has revealed is infallibly true.

Wake.

Stead"fast*ness, n. The quality or state of being steadfast; firmness; fixedness; constancy. "The steadfastness of your faith." Col. ii. 5.

To prove her wifehood and her steadfastness.

Chaucer.

Stead"i*ly (?), adv. In a steady manner.

Stead"i*ness, n. The quality or state of being steady.

Steadiness is a point of prudence as well as of courage.

L'Estrange.

Syn. -- Constancy; resolution; unchangeableness.

Stead"ing (?), n. The brans, stables, cattle-yards, etc., of a farm; -- called also onstead, farmstead, farm offices, or farmery. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Stead"y (?), a. [Compar. Steadier (?); superl. Steadiest.] [Cf. AS. stedig sterile, barren, stæ&?;&?;ig, steady (in gestæ&?;&?;ig), D. stedig, stadig, steeg, G. stätig, stetig. See Stead, n.] 1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm. "The softest, steadiest plume." Keble.

Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute.

Sir P. Sidney.

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute; as, a man steady in his principles, in his purpose, or in the pursuit of an object.

3. Regular; constant; undeviating; uniform; as, the steady course of the sun; a steady breeze of wind.

Syn. -- Fixed; regular; uniform; undeviating; invariable; unremitted; stable.

Steady rest (Mach), a rest in a turning lathe, to keep a long piece of work from trembling.

Stead"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Steadied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Steadying.] To make steady; to hold or keep from shaking, reeling, or falling; to make or keep firm; to support; to make constant, regular, or resolute.

Stead"y, v. i. To become steady; to regain a steady position or state; to move steadily.

Without a breeze, without a tide, She steadies with upright keel.

Coleridge.

Steak (?), n. [OE. steike, Icel. steik, akin to Icel. steikja to roast, stikna to be roasted or scorched, and E. stick, the steak being broiled on a spit. See Stick, v. t.] A slice of beef, broiled, or cut for broiling; -- also extended to the meat of other large animals; as, venison steak; bear steak; pork steak; turtle steak.

Steal (?), n. [See Stale a handle.] A handle; a stale, or stele. [Archaic or Prov. Eng.]

And in his hand a huge poleax did bear. Whose steale was iron-studded but not long.

Spenser.

Steal (?), v. t. [imp. Stole (?); p. p. Stolen (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stealing.] [OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stjäla, Dan. stiæle, Goth. stilan.] 1. To take and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another.

Maugre thy heed, thou must for indigence Or steal, or borrow, thy dispense.

Chaucer.

The man who stole a goose and gave away the giblets in &?;lms.

G. Eliot.

2. To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate.

They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission.

Spenser.

He will steal himself into a man's favor.

Shak.

3. To gain by insinuating arts or covert means.

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

2 Sam. xv. 6.

4. To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away.

Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject.

I. Watts.

5. To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look.

Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, . . . and do not think to steal it.

Bacon.

To steal a march, to march in a covert way; to gain an advantage unobserved; -- formerly followed by of, but now by on or upon, and sometimes by over; as, to steal a march upon one's political rivals.

She yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy.

Smollett.

Fifty thousand men can not easily steal a march over the sea.

Walpole.

Syn. -- To filch; pilfer; purloin; thieve.

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Steal (?), v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft.

Thou shalt not steal.

Ex. xx. 15.

2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively. Chaucer.

Fixed of mind to avoid further entreaty, and to fly all company, one night she stole away.

Sir P. Sidney.

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave.

Shak.

A soft and solemn breathing sound Rose like a steam of rich, distilled perfumes, And stole upon the air.

Milton.

Steal"er (?), n. 1. One who steals; a thief.

2. (Shipbuilding) The endmost plank of a strake which stops short of the stem or stern.

Steal"ing, n. 1. The act of taking feloniously the personal property of another without his consent and knowledge; theft; larceny.

2. That which is stolen; stolen property; -- chiefly used in the plural.

Steal"ing*ly, adv. By stealing, or as by stealing, furtively, or by an invisible motion. Sir P. Sidney.

Stealth (?), n. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.] 1. The act of stealing; theft. [Obs.]

The owner proveth the stealth to have been committed upon him by such an outlaw.

Spenser.

2. The thing stolen; stolen property. [Obs.] "Sluttish dens . . . serving to cover stealths." Sir W. Raleigh.

3. The bringing to pass anything in a secret or concealed manner; a secret procedure; a clandestine practice or action; -- in either a good or a bad sense.

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

Pope.

The monarch, blinded with desire of wealth, With steel invades the brother's life by stealth.

Dryden.

I told him of your stealth unto this wood.

Shak.

Stealth"ful (?), a. Given to stealth; stealthy. [Obs.] -- Stealth"ful*ly, adv. [Obs.] -- Stealth"ful*ness, n. [Obs.]

Stealth"i*ly (?), adv. In a stealthy manner.

Stealth"i*ness, n. The state, quality, or character of being stealthy; stealth.

Stealth"like` (?), a. Stealthy; sly. Wordsworth.

Stealth"y (?), a. [Compar. Stealthier (?); superl. Stealthiest.] Done by stealth; accomplished clandestinely; unperceived; secret; furtive; sly.

[Withered murder] with his stealthy pace, . . . Moves like a ghost.

Shak.

Steam (?), n. [OE. stem, steem, vapor, flame, AS. steám vapor, smoke, odor; akin to D. stoom steam, perhaps originally, a pillar, or something rising like a pillar; cf. Gr. &?; to erect, &?; a pillar, and E. stand.] 1. The elastic, aëriform fluid into which water is converted when heated to the boiling points; water in the state of vapor.

2. The mist formed by condensed vapor; visible vapor; -- so called in popular usage.

3. Any exhalation. "A steam og rich, distilled perfumes." Milton.

Dry steam, steam which does not contain water held in suspension mechanically; -- sometimes applied to superheated steam. -- Exhaust steam. See under Exhaust. -- High steam, or High- pressure steam, steam of which the pressure greatly exceeds that of the atmosphere. -- Low steam, or Low-pressure steam, steam of which the pressure is less than, equal to, or not greatly above, that of the atmosphere. -- Saturated steam, steam at the temperature of the boiling point which corresponds to its pressure; -- sometimes also applied to wet steam. -- Superheated steam, steam heated to a temperature higher than the boiling point corresponding to its pressure. It can not exist in contact with water, nor contain water, and resembles a perfect gas; -- called also surcharged steam, anhydrous steam, and steam gas. -- Wet steam, steam which contains water held in suspension mechanically; -- called also misty steam.

Steam is often used adjectively, and in combination, to denote, produced by heat, or operated by power, derived from steam, in distinction from other sources of power; as in steam boiler or steam-boiler, steam dredger or steam-dredger, steam engine or steam-engine, steam heat, steam plow or steam-plow, etc.

Steam blower. (a) A blower for producing a draught consisting of a jet or jets of steam in a chimney or under a fire. (b) A fan blower driven directly by a steam engine. -- Steam boiler, a boiler for producing steam. See Boiler, 3, and Note. In the illustration, the shell a of the boiler is partly in section, showing the tubes, or flues, which the hot gases, from the fire beneath the boiler, enter, after traversing the outside of the shell, and through which the gases are led to the smoke pipe d, which delivers them to the chimney; b is the manhole; c the dome; e the steam pipe; f the feed and blow-off pipe; g the safety value; hthe water gauge. -- Steam car, a car driven by steam power, or drawn by a locomotive. -- Steam carriage, a carriage upon wheels moved on common roads by steam. -- Steam casing. See Steam jacket, under Jacket. -- Steam chest, the box or chamber from which steam is distributed to the cylinder of a steam engine, steam pump, etc., and which usually contains one or more values; -- called also valve chest, and valve box. See Illust. of Slide valve, under Slide. -- Steam chimney, an annular chamber around the chimney of a boiler furnace, for drying steam. -- Steam coil, a coil of pipe, or collection of connected pipes, for containing steam; -- used for heating, drying, etc. -- Steam colors (Calico Printing), colors in which the chemical reaction fixed the coloring matter in the fiber is produced by steam. -- Steam cylinder, the cylinder of a steam engine, which contains the piston. See Illust. of Slide valve, under Slide. -- Steam dome (Steam Boilers), a chamber upon the top of the boiler, from which steam is conduced to the engine. See Illust. of Steam boiler, above. -- Steam fire engine, a fire engine consisting of a steam boiler and engine, and pump which is driven by the engine, combined and mounted on wheels. It is usually drawn by horses, but is sometimes made self-propelling. -- Steam fitter, a fitter of steam pipes. -- Steam fitting, the act or the occupation of a steam fitter; also, a pipe fitting for steam pipes. -- Steam gas. See Superheated steam, above. -- Steam gauge, an instrument for indicating the pressure of the steam in a boiler. The mercurial steam gauge is a bent tube partially filled with mercury, one end of which is connected with the boiler while the other is open to the air, so that the steam by its pressure raises the mercury in the long limb of the tume to a height proportioned to that pressure. A more common form, especially for high pressures, consists of a spring pressed upon by the steam, and connected with the pointer of a dial. The spring may be a flattened, bent tube, closed at one end, which the entering steam tends to straighten, or it may be a diaphragm of elastic metal, or a mass of confined air, etc. -- Steam gun, a machine or contrivance from which projectiles may be thrown by the elastic force of steam. -- Steam hammer, a hammer for forging, which is worked directly by steam; especially, a hammer which is guided vertically and operated by a vertical steam cylinder located directly over an anvil. In the variety known as Nasmyth's, the cylinder is fixed, and the hammer is attached to the piston rod. In that known as Condie's, the piston is fixed, and the hammer attached to the lower end of the cylinder. -- Steam heater. (a) A radiator heated by steam. (b) An apparatus consisting of a steam boiler, radiator, piping, and fixures for warming a house by steam. -- Steam jacket. See under Jacket. -- Steam packet, a packet or vessel propelled by steam, and running periodically between certain ports. -- Steam pipe, any pipe for conveying steam; specifically, a pipe through which steam is supplied to an engine. -- Steam plow or plough, a plow, or gang of plows, moved by a steam engine. -- Steam port, an opening for steam to pass through, as from the steam chest into the cylinder. -- Steam power, the force or energy of steam applied to produce results; power derived from a steam engine. -- Steam propeller. See Propeller. -- Steam pump, a small pumping engine operated by steam. It is usually direct-acting. -- Steam room (Steam Boilers), the space in the boiler above the water level, and in the dome, which contains steam. -- Steam table, a table on which are dishes heated by steam for keeping food warm in the carving room of a hotel, restaurant, etc. -- Steam trap, a self- acting device by means of which water that accumulates in a pipe or vessel containing steam will be discharged without permitting steam to escape. -- Steam tug, a steam vessel used in towing or propelling ships. -- Steam vessel, a vessel propelled by steam; a steamboat or steamship; -- a steamer. -- Steam whistle, an apparatus attached to a steam boiler, as of a locomotive, through which steam is rapidly discharged, producing a loud whistle which serves as a warning signal. The steam issues from a narrow annular orifice around the upper edge of the lower cup or hemisphere, striking the thin edge of the bell above it, and producing sound in the manner of an organ pipe or a common whistle.

Steam (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Steamed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Steaming.] 1. To emit steam or vapor.

My brother's ghost hangs hovering there, O'er his warm blood, that steams into the air.

Dryden.

Let the crude humors dance In heated brass, steaming with fire intence.

J. Philips.

2. To rise in vapor; to issue, or pass off, as vapor.

The dissolved amber . . . steamed away into the air.

Boyle.

3. To move or travel by the agency of steam.

The vessel steamed out of port.

N. P. Willis.

4. To generate steam; as, the boiler steams well.

Steam (?), v. t. 1. To exhale. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. To expose to the action of steam; to apply steam to for softening, dressing, or preparing; as, to steam wood; to steamcloth; to steam food, etc.

Steam"boat` (?), n. A boat or vessel propelled by steam power; -- generally used of river or coasting craft, as distinguished from ocean steamers.

Steam"boat`ing, n. 1. The occupation or business of running a steamboat, or of transporting merchandise, passengers, etc., by steamboats.

2. (Bookbinding) The shearing of a pile of books which are as yet uncovered, or out of boards. Knight.

Steam" en"gine (?). An engine moved by steam.

In its most common forms its essential parts are a piston, a cylinder, and a valve gear. The piston works in the cylinder, to which steam is admitted by the action of the valve gear, and communicates motion to the machinery to be actuated. Steam engines are thus classified: 1. According to the wat the steam is used or applied, as condencing, noncondencing, compound, double-acting, single-acting, triple-expansion, etc. 2. According to the motion of the piston, as reciprocating, rotary, etc. 3. According to the motion imparted by the engine, as rotative and nonrotative. 4. According to the arrangement of the engine, as stationary, portable, and semiportable engines, beam engine, oscillating engine, direct-acting and back-acting engines, etc. 5. According to their uses, as portable, marine, locomotive, pumping, blowing, winding, and stationary engines. Locomotive and portable engines are usually high- pressure, noncondencing, rotative, and direct-acting. Marine engines are high or low pressure, rotative, and generally condencing, double-acting, and compound. Paddle engines are generally beam, side&?;lever, oscillating, or direct-acting. Screw engines are generally direct-acting, back-acting, or oscillating. Stationary engines belong to various classes, but are generally rotative. A horizontal or inclined stationary steam engine is called a left-hand or a right-hand engine when the crank shaft and driving pulley are on the left-hand side, or the right-hand side, respectively, or the engine, to a person looking at them from the cylinder, and is said to run forward or backward when the crank traverses the upward half, or lower half, respectively, of its path, while the piston rod makes its stroke outward from the cylinder. A marine engine, or the engine of a locomotive, is said to run forward when its motion is such as would propel the vessel or the locomotive forward. Steam engines are further classified as double- cylinder, disk, semicylinder, trunk engines, etc. Machines, such as cranes, hammers, etc., of which the steam engine forms a part, are called steam cranes, steam hammers, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.

Back-acting, or Back-action, steam engine, a steam engine in which the motion is transmitted backward from the crosshead to a crank which is between the crosshead and the cylinder, or beyond the cylinder. -- Portable steam engine, a steam engine combined with, and attached to, a boiler which is mounted on wheels so as to admit of easy transportation; -- used for driving machinery in the field, as trashing machines, draining pumps, etc. -- Semiportable steam engine, a steam engine combined with, and attached to, a steam boiler, but not mounted on wheels.

Steam"er (?), n. 1. A vessel propelled by steam; a steamship or steamboat.

2. A steam fire engine. See under Steam.

3. A road locomotive for use on common roads, as in agricultural operations.

4. A vessel in which articles are subjected to the action of steam, as in washing, in cookery, and in various processes of manufacture.

5. (Zoöl.) The steamer duck.

Steamer duck (Zoöl.), a sea duck (Tachyeres cinereus), native of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego, which swims and dives with great agility, but which, when full grown, is incapable of flight, owing to its very small wings. Called also loggerhead, race horse, and side wheel duck.

Steam"i*ness (?), n. The quality or condition of being steamy; vaporousness; mistness.

Steam"ship` (?), n. A ship or seagoing vessel propelled by the power of steam; a steamer.

Steam"y (?), a. Consisting of, or resembling, steam; full of steam; vaporous; misty. Cowper.

Stean (?), n. & v. See Steen. Spenser.

Stean"ingp, n. See Steening.

Ste*ap"sin (?), n. (Physiol Chem.) An unorganized ferment or enzyme present in pancreatic juice. It decomposes neutral fats into glycerin and fatty acids.

Ste"a*rate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of stearic acid; as, ordinary soap consists largely of sodium or potassium stearates.

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Ste*ar"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. stéarique.] (Physiol. Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, stearin or tallow; resembling tallow.

Stearic acid (Chem.), a monobasic fatty acid, obtained in the form of white crystalline scales, soluble in alcohol and ether. It melts to an oily liquid at 69°C.

Ste"a*rin (?), n. [Gr. &?; tallow, suet: cf. F. stéarine.] (Physiol. Chem.) One of the constituents of animal fats and also of some vegetable fats, as the butter of cacao. It is especially characterized by its solidity, so that when present in considerable quantity it materially increases the hardness, or raises the melting point, of the fat, as in mutton tallow. Chemically, it is a compound of glyceryl with three molecules of stearic acid, and hence is technically called tristearin, or glyceryl tristearate.

Ste`a*rol"ic (?), a. [Stearic + oleic + -ic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid of the acetylene series, isologous with stearis acid, and obtained, as a white crystalline substance, from oleïc acid.

Ste"a*rone (?), n. (Chem.) The ketone of stearic acid, obtained as a white crystalline substance, (C17H35)2.CO, by the distillation of calcium stearate.