Chapter 99

Stick, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stuck (?) (Obs. Sticked (&?;)); p. pr. & vb. n. Sticking.] [OE. stikien, v.t. & i., combined with steken, whence E. stuck), AS. stician, v.t. & i., and (assumed) stecan, v.t.; akin to OFries. steka, OS. stekan, OHG. stehhan, G. stechen, and to Gr. &?; to prick, Skr. tij to be sharp. Cf. Distinguish, Etiquette, Extinct, Instigate, Instinct, Prestige, Stake, Steak, Stick, n., Stigma, Stimulate, Sting, Stitch in sewing, Style for or in writing.] 1. To penetrate with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to stab; hence, to kill by piercing; as, to stick a beast.

And sticked him with bodkins anon.

Chaucer.

It was a shame . . . to stick him under the other gentleman's arm while he was redding the fray.

Sir W. Scott.

2. To cause to penetrate; to push, thrust, or drive, so as to pierce; as, to stick a needle into one's finger.

Thou stickest a dagger in me.

Shak.

3. To fasten, attach, or cause to remain, by thrusting in; hence, also, to adorn or deck with things fastened on as by piercing; as, to stick a pin on the sleeve.

My shroud of white, stuck all with yew.

Shak.

The points of spears are stuck within the shield.

Dryden.

4. To set; to fix in; as, to stick card teeth.

5. To set with something pointed; as, to stick cards.

6. To fix on a pointed instrument; to impale; as, to stick an apple on a fork.

7. To attach by causing to adhere to the surface; as, to stick on a plaster; to stick a stamp on an envelope; also, to attach in any manner.

8. (Print.) To compose; to set, or arrange, in a composing stick; as, to stick type. [Cant]

9. (Joinery) To run or plane (moldings) in a machine, in contradistinction to working them by hand. Such moldings are said to be stuck.

10. To cause to stick; to bring to a stand; to pose; to puzzle; as, to stick one with a hard problem. [Colloq.]

11. To impose upon; to compel to pay; sometimes, to cheat. [Slang]

To stick out, to cause to project or protrude; to render prominent.

Stick (?), v. i. 1. To adhere; as, glue sticks to the fingers; paste sticks to the wall.

The green caterpillar breedeth in the inward parts of roses not blown, where the dew sticketh.

Bacon.

2. To remain where placed; to be fixed; to hold fast to any position so as to be moved with difficulty; to cling; to abide; to cleave; to be united closely.

A friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Prov. xviii. 24.

I am a kind of bur; I shall stick.

Shak.

If on your fame our sex a bolt has thrown, 'T will ever stick through malice of your own.

Young.

3. To be prevented from going farther; to stop by reason of some obstacle; to be stayed.

I had most need of blessing, and "Amen" Stuck in my throat.

Shak.

The trembling weapon passed Through nine bull hides, . . . and stuck within the last.

Dryden.

4. To be embarrassed or puzzled; to hesitate; to be deterred, as by scruples; to scruple; -- often with at.

They will stick long at part of a demonstration for want of perceiving the connection of two ideas.

Locke.

Some stick not to say, that the parson and attorney forged a will.

Arbuthnot.

5. To cause difficulties, scruples, or hesitation.

This is the difficulty that sticks with the most reasonable.

Swift.

To stick by. (a) To adhere closely to; to be firm in supporting. "We are your only friends; stick by us, and we will stick by you." Davenant. (b) To be troublesome by adhering. "I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me." Pope. -- To stick out. (a) To project; to be prominent. "His bones that were not seen stick out." Job xxxiii. 21. (b) To persevere in a purpose; to hold out; as, the garrison stuck out until relieved. [Colloq.] -- To stick to, to be persevering in holding to; as, to stick to a party or cause. "The advantage will be on our side if we stick to its essentials." Addison. -- To stick up, to stand erect; as, his hair sticks up. -- To stick up for, to assert and defend; as, to stick up for one's rights or for a friend. [Colloq.] -- To stick upon, to dwell upon; not to forsake. "If the matter be knotty, the mind must stop and buckle to it, and stick upon it with labor and thought." Locke.

Stick"ed (?), obs. imp. of Stick. Stuck.

And in the sand her ship sticked so fast.

Chaucer.

They sticked not to give their bodies to be burnt.

Sir T. Browne.

Stick"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, sticks; as, a bill sticker.

2. That which causes one to stick; that which puzzles or poses. [Colloq.] Tackeray.

3. (Mus.) In the organ, a small wooden rod which connects (in part) a key and a pallet, so as to communicate motion by pushing.

4. Same as Paster, 2. [Political Cant, U.S.]

Stick"ful (?), n.; pl. Stickfuls (&?;). (Print.) As much set type as fills a composing stick.

Stick"i*ness (?), n. The quality of being sticky; as, the stickiness of glue or paste.

Stick"ing, a. & n. from Stick, v.

Sticking piece, a piece of beef cut from the neck. [Eng.] -- Sticking place, the place where a thing sticks, or remains fast; sticking point.

But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail.

Shak.

-- Sticking plaster, an adhesive plaster for closing wounds, and for similar uses. -- Sticking point. Same as Sticking place, above.

Stick"it (?), a. Stuck; spoiled in making. [Scot.]

Stickit minister, a candidate for the clerical office who fails, disqualified by incompetency or immorality.

Stick"-lac` (?), n. See the Note under Lac.

Stic"kle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stickled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stickling.] [Probably fr. OE. stightlen, sti&?;tlen, to dispose, arrange, govern, freq. of stihten, AS. stihtan: cf. G. stiften to found, to establish.] 1. To separate combatants by intervening. [Obs.]

When he [the angel] sees half of the Christians killed, and the rest in a fair way of being routed, he stickles betwixt the remainder of God's host and the race of fiends.

Dryden.

2. To contend, contest, or altercate, esp. in a pertinacious manner on insufficient grounds.

Fortune, as she 's wont, turned fickle, And for the foe began to stickle.

Hudibras.

While for paltry punk they roar and stickle.

Dryden.

The obstinacy with which he stickles for the wrong.

Hazlitt.

3. To play fast and loose; to pass from one side to the other; to trim.

Stic"kle, v. t. 1. To separate, as combatants; hence, to quiet, to appease, as disputants. [Obs.]

Which [question] violently they pursue, Nor stickled would they be.

Drayton.

2. To intervene in; to stop, or put an end to, by intervening; hence, to arbitrate. [Obs.]

They ran to him, and, pulling him back by force, stickled that unnatural fray.

Sir P. Sidney.

Stic"kle, n. [Cf. stick, v. t. & i.] A shallow rapid in a river; also, the current below a waterfall. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Patient anglers, standing all the day Near to some shallow stickle or deep bay.

W. Browne.

Stic"kle*back` (?), n. [OE. & Prov E. stickle a prickle, spine, sting (AS. sticel) + back. See Stick, v. t., and cf. Banstickle.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small fishes of the genus Gasterosteus and allied genera. The back is armed with two or more sharp spines. They inhabit both salt and brackish water, and construct curious nests. Called also sticklebag, sharpling, and prickleback.

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Stic"kler (stk"klr), n. [See Stickle, v. t.] One who stickles. Specifically: --

(a) One who arbitrates a duel; a sidesman to a fencer; a second; an umpire. [Obs.]

Basilius, the judge, appointed sticklers and trumpets whom the others should obey.

Sir P. Sidney.

Our former chiefs, like sticklers of the war, First sought to inflame the parties, then to poise.

Dryden.

(b) One who pertinaciously contends for some trifling things, as a point of etiquette; an unreasonable, obstinate contender; as, a stickler for ceremony.

The Tory or High-church were the greatest sticklers against the exorbitant proceedings of King James II.

Swift.

Stick"-seed` (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Echinospermum Lappula) of the Borage family, with small blue flowers and prickly nutlets.

Stick"tail` (?), n. The ruddy duck. [Local, U.S.]

Stick"-tight` (?), n. (Bot.) Beggar's ticks.

Stick"y (?), a. [Compar. Stickier (?); superl. Stickiest.] Having the quality of sticking to a surface; adhesive; gluey; viscous; viscid; glutinous; tenacious.

Herbs which last longest are those of strong smell, and with a sticky stalk.

Bacon.

Stid"dy (?), n. [See Stithy.] An anvil; also, a smith shop. See Stithy. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Stiff (?), a. [Compar. Stiffer (?); superl. Stiffest.] [OE. stif, AS. stf; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. stfr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. Costive, Stifle, Stipulate, Stive to stuff.] 1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.

[They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aërial sky.

Milton.

2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.

3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.

4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.

It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.

Jer. Taylor.

A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws.

Dryden.

5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.

The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved.

Addison.

6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] "This is stiff news." Shak.

7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank. Totten.

8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang]

Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.

Syn. -- Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.

Stiff"-backed` (?), a. Obstinate. J. H. Newman.

Stiff"en (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] [See Stiff.] 1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch.

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.

Shak.

2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.

3. To make torpid; to benumb.

Stiff"en, v. i. To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective.

Like bristles rose my stiffening hair.

Dryden.

The tender soil then stiffening by degrees.

Dryden.

Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity.

Dryden.

Stiff"en*er (?), n. One who, or that which, stiffens anything, as a piece of stiff cloth in a cravat.

Stiff"en*ing, n. 1. Act or process of making stiff.

2. Something used to make anything stiff.

Stiffening order (Com.), a permission granted by the customs department to take cargo or ballast on board before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship.

Stiff"-heart`ed (?), a. [Stiff + heart.] Obstinate; stubborn; contumacious. Ezek. ii. 4.

Stiff"ish, a. Somewhat stiff.

Stiff"ly (?), adv. In a stiff manner.

Stiff"-necked` (?), a. Stubborn; inflexibly obstinate; contumacious; as, stiff-necked pride; a stiff-necked people. Ex. xxxii. 9.

Stiff"-neck`ed*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being stiff-necked; stubbornness.

Stiff"ness, n. The quality or state of being stiff; as, the stiffness of cloth or of paste; stiffness of manner; stiffness of character.

The vices of old age have the stiffness of it too.

South.

Stiff"tail` (?), n. The ruddy duck. [Local, U.S.]

Stiff"-tailed` (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having the quill feathers of the tail somewhat rigid.

Sti"fle (?), n. [From Stiff.] (Far.) The joint next above the hock, and near the flank, in the hind leg of the horse and allied animals; the joint corresponding to the knee in man; -- called also stifle joint. See Illust. under Horse.

Stifle bone, a small bone at the stifle joint; the patella, or kneepan.

Sti"fle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stifled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stifling (?).] [Freq. of OE. stif stiff; cf. Icel. stfla to dam up.] 1. To stop the breath of by crowding something into the windpipe, or introducing an irrespirable substance into the lungs; to choke; to suffocate; to cause the death of by such means; as, to stifle one with smoke or dust.

Stifled with kisses, a sweet death he dies.

Dryden.

I took my leave, being half stifled with the closeness of the room.

Swift.

2. To stop; to extinguish; to deaden; to quench; as, to stifle the breath; to stifle a fire or flame.

Bodies . . . stifle in themselves the rays which they do not reflect or transmit.

Sir I. Newton.

3. To suppress the manifestation or report of; to smother; to conceal from public knowledge; as, to stifle a story; to stifle passion.

I desire only to have things fairly represented as they really are; no evidence smothered or stifled.

Waterland.

Sti"fle (?), v. i. To die by reason of obstruction of the breath, or because some noxious substance prevents respiration.

You shall stifle in your own report.

Shak.

Sti"fled (?), a. Stifling.

The close and stifled study.

Hawthorne.

Sti"fler (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, stifles.

2. (Mil.) See Camouflet.

Stig"ma (?), n.; pl. E. Stigmas (#), L. Stigmata (#). [L., a mark, a brand, from Gr. &?;, &?;, the prick or mark of a pointed instrument, a spot, mark, from &?; to prick, to brand. See Stick, v. t.] 1. A mark made with a burning iron; a brand.

2. Any mark of infamy or disgrace; sign of moral blemish; stain or reproach caused by dishonorable conduct; reproachful characterization.

The blackest stigma that can be fastened upon him.

Bp. Hall.

All such slaughters were from thence called Bartelmies, simply in a perpetual stigma of that butchery.

Sir G. Buck.

3. (Bot.) That part of a pistil which has no epidermis, and is fitted to receive the pollen. It is usually the terminal portion, and is commonly somewhat glutinous or viscid. See Illust. of Stamen and of Flower.

4. (Anat.) A small spot, mark, scar, or a minute hole; -- applied especially to a spot on the outer surface of a Graafian follicle, and to spots of intercellular substance in scaly epithelium, or to minute holes in such spots.

5. (Pathol.) A red speck upon the skin, produced either by the extravasation of blood, as in the bloody sweat characteristic of certain varieties of religious ecstasy, or by capillary congestion, as in the case of drunkards.

6. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the external openings of the tracheæ of insects, myriapods, and other arthropods; a spiracle. (b) One of the apertures of the pulmonary sacs of arachnids. See Illust. of Scorpion. (c) One of the apertures of the gill of an ascidian, and of Amphioxus.

7. (Geom.) A point so connected by any law whatever with another point, called an index, that as the index moves in any manner in a plane the first point or stigma moves in a determinate way in the same plane.

8. pl. (R. C. Ch.) Marks believed to have been supernaturally impressed upon the bodies of certain persons in imitation of the wounds on the crucified body of Christ. See def. 5, above.

||Stig*ma"ri*a (?), n. [NL. See Stigma.] (Paleon.) The fossil root stem ||of a coal plant of the genus Sigillaria.

||Stig"ma*ta (?), n.; pl. of Stigma.

Stig*mat"ic (?), n. 1. A notorious profligate or criminal who has been branded; one who bears the marks of infamy or punishment. [R.] Bullokar.

2. A person who is marked or deformed by nature. Shak.

{ Stig*mat"ic (?), Stig*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [See Stigma.] 1. Marked with a stigma, or with something reproachful to character.

2. Impressing with infamy or reproach. [R.]

3. (Bot., Anat., etc) Of or pertaining to a stigma or stigmata.

Stigmatic geometry, or Stigmatics, that science in which the correspondence of index and stigma (see Stigma, 7) is made use of to establish geometrical proportions.

Stig*mat"ic*al*ly, adv. With a stigma, or mark of infamy or deformity.

Stig"ma*tist (?), n. One believed to be supernaturally impressed with the marks of Christ's wounds. See Stigma, 8.

Stig`ma*ti*za"tion (?), n. 1. The act of stigmatizing.

2. (R. C. Ch.) The production of stigmata upon the body. See Stigma, 8.

Stig"ma*tize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stigmatized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stigmatizing (?).] [F. stigmatiser, Gr. &?;.] 1. To mark with a stigma, or brand; as, the ancients stigmatized their slaves and soldiers.

That . . . hold out both their ears with such delight and ravishment, to be stigmatized and bored through in witness of their own voluntary and beloved baseness.

Milton.

2. To set a mark of disgrace on; to brand with some mark of reproach or infamy.

To find virtue extolled and vice stigmatized.

Addison.

Stig"ma*tose` (?), a. (Bot.) Same as Stigmatic.

Stig"o*no*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, one who is marked, or one who marks (&?; to mark with a pointed instrument, to prick) + -mancy.] Divination by writing on the bark of a tree.

Stike (?), n. [See Stich.] Stanza. [Obs.] Sackville.

Sti"lar (?), a. [From Stile a style.] Of or pertaining to the style of a dial. [Written also stylar.]

Stil"bene (?), n. [See Stilbite.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon, C14H12, produced artificially in large, fine crystals; -- called also diphenyl ethylene, toluylene, etc.

Stil"bite (?), n. [Gr. &?; to glitter, shine: cf. F. stilbite.] (Min.) A common mineral of the zeolite family, a hydrous silicate of alumina and lime, usually occurring in sheaflike aggregations of crystals, also in radiated masses. It is of a white or yellowish color, with pearly luster on the cleavage surface. Called also desmine.

Stile (?), n. [See Style.] 1. A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon.

2. Mode of composition. See Style. [Obs.]

May I not write in such a stile as this?

Bunyan.

Stile, n. [OE. stile, AS. stigel a step, a ladder, from stgan to ascend; akin to OHG. stigila a stile. &radic;164. See Sty, v. i., and cf. Stair.] 1. A step, or set of steps, for ascending and descending, in passing a fence or wall.

There comes my master . . . over the stile, this way.

Shak.

Over this stile in the way to Doubting Castle.

Bunyan.

2. (Arch.) One of the upright pieces in a frame; one of the primary members of a frame, into which the secondary members are mortised.

In an ordinary door the principal upright pieces are called stiles, the subordinate upright pieces mullions, and the crosspieces rails. In wainscoting the principal pieces are sometimes called stiles, even when horizontal.

Hanging stile, Pulley stile. See under Hanging, and Pulley.

Sti"let (?), n. [Written also stilette, and stylet.] 1. A stiletto. [R.]

2. (Surg.) See Stylet, 2.

Sti*let"to (?), n.; pl. Stilettos (#). [It., dim. of stilo a dagger, fr. L. stilus a pointed instrument. See Style for writing, and cf. Stylet.] 1. A kind of dagger with a slender, rounded, and pointed blade.

2. A pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in embroidery.

3. A beard trimmed into a pointed form. [Obs.]

The very quack of fashions, the very he that Wears a stiletto on his chin.

Ford.

Sti*let"to, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stilettoed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stilettoing (?).] To stab or kill with a stiletto. Bacon.

Still (?), a. [Compar. Stiller (?); superl. Stillest.] [OE. stille, AS. stille; akin to D. stil, OS. & OHG. stilli, G. still, Dan. stille, Sw. stilla, and to E. stall; from the idea of coming to a stand, or halt. Cf. Still, adv.] 1. Motionless; at rest; quiet; as, to stand still; to lie or sit still. "Still as any stone." Chaucer.

2. Uttering no sound; silent; as, the audience is still; the animals are still.

The sea that roared at thy command, At thy command was still.

Addison.

3. Not disturbed by noise or agitation; quiet; calm; as, a still evening; a still atmosphere. "When all the woods are still." Milton.

4. Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low. "A still small voice." 1 Kings xix. 12.

5. Constant; continual. [Obs.]

By still practice learn to know thy meaning.

Shak.

6. Not effervescing; not sparkling; as, still wines.

Still life. (Fine Arts) (a) Inanimate objects. (b) (Painting) The class or style of painting which represents inanimate objects, as fruit, flowers, dead game, etc.

Syn. -- Quiet; calm; noiseless; serene; motionless; inert; stagnant.

Still, n. [Cf. G. stille.] 1. Freedom from noise; calm; silence; as, the still of midnight. [Poetic]

2. A steep hill or ascent. [Obs.] W. Browne.

Still, adv. [AS. stille quietly. See Still, a. The modern senses come from the idea of stopping and staying still, or motionless.] 1. To this time; until and during the time now present; now no less than before; yet.

It hath been anciently reported, and is still received.

Bacon.

2. In the future as now and before.

Hourly joys be still upon you!

Shak.

3. In continuation by successive or repeated acts; always; ever; constantly; uniformly.

The desire of fame betrays an ambitious man into indecencies that lessen his reputation; he is still afraid lest any of his actions should be thrown away in private.

Addison.

Chemists would be rich if they could still do in great quantities what they have sometimes done in little.

Boyle.

4. In an increasing or additional degree; even more; -- much used with comparatives.

The guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed.

Shak.

5. Notwithstanding what has been said or done; in spite of what has occured; nevertheless; -- sometimes used as a conjunction. See Synonym of But.

As sunshine, broken in the rill, Though turned astray, is sunshine still.

Moore.

6. After that; after what is stated.

In the primitive church, such as by fear being compelled to sacrifice to strange gods, after repented, and kept still the office of preaching the gospel.

Whitgift.

Still and anon, at intervals and repeatedly; continually; ever and anon; now and then.

And like the watchful minutes to the hour, Still and anon cheered up the heavy time.

Shak.

Still, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stilled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stilling.] [AS. stillan, from stille still, quiet, firm. See Still, a.] 1. To stop, as motion or agitation; to cause to become quiet, or comparatively quiet; to check the agitation of; as, to still the raging sea.

He having a full sway over the water, had power to still and compose it, as well as to move and disturb it.

Woodward.

2. To stop, as noise; to silence.

With his name the mothers still their babies.

Shak.

3. To appease; to calm; to quiet, as tumult, agitation, or excitement; as, to still the passions. Shak.

Toil that would, at least, have stilled an unquiet impulse in me.

Hawthorne.

Syn. -- To quiet; calm; allay; lull; pacify; appease; subdue; suppress; silence; stop; check; restrain.

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Still (?), n. [Cf. OE. stillatorie. See Still, v., to distill.] 1. A vessel, boiler, or copper used in the distillation of liquids; specifically, one used for the distillation of alcoholic liquors; a retort. The name is sometimes applied to the whole apparatus used in in vaporization and condensation.

2. A house where liquors are distilled; a distillery.

Still watcher, a device for indicating the progress of distillation by the density of the liquid given over. Knight.

Still, v. t. [Abbreviated fr. distill.] 1. To cause to fall by drops.

2. To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill. Tusser.

Still, v. i. [L. stillare. Cf. Distill.] To drop, or flow in drops; to distill. [Obs.] Spenser.

Stil"lage (?), n. (Bleaching) A low stool to keep the goods from touching the floor. Knight.

Stil`la*ti"tious (?), a. [L. stillaticius, fr. stillare to drop, stilla a drop.] Falling in drops; drawn by a still.