stay

Wikipedia

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: stā, IPA: /steɪ/, SAMPA: /steI/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1

From Middle French ester.

Verb

stay (third-person singular simple present stays, present participle staying, simple past and past participle stayed)

1. (intransitive) To remain in a particular place.

   We stayed in Hawaii for a week.

   I can only stay for an hour.

2. (intransitive) To continue to have a particular quality.

   Wear gloves so your hands stay warm.

3. (transitive) To postpone.

   The governor stayed the execution until the appeal could be heard.

Derived terms

• here to stay
• outstay
• overstay
• stay-at-home
• stay behind
• stay-button
• stayer
• stay on
• stay over
• stay put
• stay the course
• stay up
• the more things change, the more they stay the same
• unstayed
• upstay

Translations

To remain in a particular place

Arabic: مكث (ar) (makatha), بقي (ar) (baqiya) Armenian: մնալ (hy) (mnal) Chinese: ; Mandarin: 呆 (cmn) (dāi), 留 (cmn) (liú) Czech: zůstat (cs), pobýt (cs) Dutch: blijven (nl), verblijven (nl) Estonian: jääma (et), viibima (et) Finnish: viipyä (fi), jäädä (fi), pysyä (fi) French: rester (fr) Galician: quedar (gl) German: sich aufhalten (de), bleiben (de) Hindi: ठहरना (hi) (ṭhaharnā), रहना (hi) (rahnā) Hungarian: marad (hu), tartózkodik (hu) Icelandic: dvelja (is), vera (is) Irish: fan (ga) Italian: restare (it), rimanere (it) Japanese: 留まる (ja) (とまる, tomaru), とまる (ja) (tomaru), とどまる (ja) (todomaru), 残る (ja) (nokoru)

Korean: 머무르다 (ko) (meomureuda) Latin: sto (la), maneo (la) Lithuanian: pasilikti Norwegian: bli (no), forbli (no) Persian: ماندن (fa) (mândan) Portuguese: ficar (pt), permanecer (pt) Romanian: sta, rămâne, zăbovi Russian: оставаться (ru) (ostavát'sja) impf., остаться (ru) (ostát'sja) pf. Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: о̀стати (sh) Roman: òstati (sh) Spanish: quedarse, hospedarse, pasar la noche, permanecer Swedish: stanna (sv); vistas (sv) Thai: คงอยู่ (th) (kong-yòo) Urdu: رہنا (ur) (rahnā) Vietnamese: ở lại (vi), lưu lại (vi)

To continue to have a particular quality

Armenian: մնալ (hy) (mnal) Chinese: Mandarin: 留 (cmn) (liú) Czech: zůstat (cs) Dutch: blijven (nl), verblijven (nl) Estonian: jääma (et) Finnish: viipyä (fi), jäädä (fi) French: rester (fr) Galician: ficar, permanecer German: bleiben (de) Icelandic: halda (is)

Italian: restare (it) Japanese: とどまる (ja) (todomaru) Latin: sto (la), teneo (la) Lithuanian: likti (lt) Norwegian: bli (no), forbli (no) Polish: zostawać (pl) Portuguese: ficar (pt), permanecer (pt), continuar (pt), manter (pt) Romanian: sta, rămâne, dăinui Russian: оставаться/остаться (ostavát's'a/ostát's'a) Spanish: mantenerse (es) Swedish: stanna (sv); hålla sig (sv)

To postpone

Czech: odložit (cs) Dutch: uitstellen (nl) Estonian: viivitama (et) Finnish: lykätä (fi)

Portuguese: adiar (pt) Romanian: amâna, întârzia Russian: откладывать/отложить (otkládyvat'/otložít') Spanish: quedar (es), permanecer (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Aromanian: armînu Italian: stare Old English: wunian, ābīdan (1) Romanian: rămâne, rămânea Scottish Gaelic: fuirich Spanish: hospedarse (1) Swedish: förbli; förbliva (archaic)

Etymology 2

From the verb stay.

Noun

stay (plural stays)

1. A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment.

   The governor granted a stay of execution.

2. A period of time spent in a place.

   I hope you enjoyed your stay in Hawaii.

3. A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing.

   Where are the stays for my collar?

Derived terms

• gay for the stay
• staycation

Translations

postponement

Czech: odložení (cs) n., odklad (cs) m., odročení (cs) n. Dutch: uitstel (nl) n. Estonian: viivitus (et)

Finnish: lykkäys (fi) Portuguese: suspensão (pt) f. Russian: отсрочка (ru) (otsróčka)

holiday or temporary residence

Czech: pobyt (cs) m. Dutch: verblijf (nl) n. Esperanto: restado (eo) Finnish: oleskelu French: séjour (fr) m.

Italian: permanenza (it) f. Polish: pobyt (pl) m. Portuguese: estada f., estadia f. Russian: пребывание (ru) (prebyvánije) n. Spanish: estadía (es) f.

Etymology 3

From Old English stæg, from Proto-Germanic *staga-.

Noun

stay (plural stays)

1. A rope or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole or a mast, or other structural element.

   The engineer insisted on using stays for the scaffolding.

Derived terms

backstay bobstay forestay

jackstay mainstay staylace

stayless staymaker stayman

staysail stayship triatic stay

Translations

supporting rope or wire

Dutch: stag (nl) n. Esperanto: stajo (eo) Finnish: harus (fi); staagi (fi) (nautical)

Norwegian: stag (no) Swedish: stag (sv) n. (nautical)

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: ancient · parts · getting · #675: stay · months · grew · boys

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