stall

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See also: Stall and ställ

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English stall, stalle, from Old English steall (“standing place, position”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, put, post, stand”).

Noun[edit]

stall (plural stalls)

  1. (countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
    Synonym: boose
  2. A stable; a place for cattle.
  3. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
    • 1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Saturday; or, The Flights”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], OCLC 22942401, lines 71–74, page 57:
      Now he goes on, and ſings of fairs and ſhows, / For ſtill new fairs before his eyes aroſe. / How pedlars' ſtalls with glitt'ring toys are laid, / The various fairings of the country maid.
  5. (countable) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.
    • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars:
      He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days [...]
    • 2019, Li Huang; James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, DOI:10.1080/01434632.2019.1596115, page 3:
      Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of ‘a growing English-speaking elite’ that is ‘happy to maintain the importance of the English language’.
  6. A very small room used for a shower or a toilet.
    • 1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest:
      Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall, and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.
  7. (countable) A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
  8. (aeronautics) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded.
  9. (Germanic paganism) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.
    • 1989, Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth, Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 156:
      In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall.
    • 2006, Selene Silverwind, “Asatruar Tools and Practices”, in Everything you need to know about Paganism‎[1], David & Charles, →ISBN, page 117:
      Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.
    • 2006, Mark Puryear, The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe‎[2], iUniverse, →ISBN, page 237:
      Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar.
  10. A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
  11. A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.
    • 1910 [1840], Alexandre Dumas, père, translator not mentioned, Celebrated Crimes: Urbain Grandier, P. F. Collier edition,
      When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall, thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.
  12. A sheath to protect the finger.
  13. (mining) The space left by excavation between pillars.
  14. (Canada) A parking stall; a space for a vehicle in a parking lot or parkade.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Verb[edit]

stall (third-person singular simple present stalls, present participle stalling, simple past and past participle stalled)

  1. (transitive) To put (an animal, etc.) in a stall.
    to stall an ox
    • 1697, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432, lines 523–526, page 479:
      But Niſus hit the Turns with happier haſte, / And thoughtleſs of his Friend, the Foreſt paſs’d: / And Alban Plains, from Alba’s Name ſo call’d, / Where King Latinus then his Oxen ſtall’d.
  2. To fatten.
    to stall cattle
  3. (intransitive) To come to a standstill.
    • 1960 July, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 443:
      [...] the 4-4-0 unhappily stalled after a stop on Reading Old Bank with its eight-coach load and the Reading Up Line pilot, a "Hall", had to bank the train into Reading General.
  4. (transitive) To cause to stop making progress, to hinder, to slow down, to delay or forestall.
  5. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.
    to stall a cart
  6. (intransitive, of an engine) To stop suddenly.
  7. (transitive, automotive) To cause the engine of a manual-transmission car to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.
  8. (intransitive, aviation) To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
  9. (transitive, aviation) To cause to exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
    The pilot stalled the plane by pulling the nose up too high at a slow airspeed.
  10. (obsolete) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
  11. (obsolete) To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
  12. (obsolete) To be tired of eating, as cattle.
  13. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
  14. To forestall; to anticipate.
  15. To keep close; to keep secret.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).

Noun[edit]

stall (plural stalls)

  1. An action that is intended to cause or actually causes delay.
    His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

stall (third-person singular simple present stalls, present participle stalling, simple past and past participle stalled)

  1. (transitive) To employ delaying tactics against.
    He stalled the creditors as long as he could.
  2. (intransitive) To employ delaying tactics.
    Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse stallr

Noun[edit]

stall m (definite singular stallen, indefinite plural staller, definite plural stallene)

  1. a stable (building where horses are housed)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse stallr

Noun[edit]

stall m (definite singular stallen, indefinite plural stallar, definite plural stallane)

  1. a stable (building where horses are housed)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Swedish stalder, from Old Norse stallr.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

stall n

  1. stable, building for housing horses
  2. a team in certain sports, in particular racing.
  3. bridge (of a violin etc.)

Declension[edit]

Declension of stall 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative stall stallet stall stallen
Genitive stalls stallets stalls stallens

Descendants[edit]

  • Finnish: talli

Anagrams[edit]

Westrobothnian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse stallr, from Proto-Germanic *stallaz.

Noun[edit]

stall m (definite singular stalln, definite plural stalla)

  1. a stable (building where horses are housed)
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