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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\ (st[=a]l), noun [OE. stale, stele, AS. st[ae]l, stel; akin to LG. & D. steel, G. stiel; cf. L. stilus stake, stalk, stem, Gr. steleo'n a handle, and E. stall, stalk, noun] The stock or handle of anything; as, the stale of a rake. [Written also {steal}, {stele}, etc.]
But seeing the arrow's stale without, and that the head did go No further than it might be seen. --Chapman.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\, verb (used without an object) [Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, and E. stall a stable. [root] 163. See {Stall}, noun, and cf. {Stale}, adjective] To make water; to discharge urine; -- said especially of horses and cattle. --Hudibras.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\, noun [See {Stale}, adjective & verb (used without an object)]
1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.]
2. A prostitute. [Obs.] --Shak.
3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. ''Stale of horses.'' --Shak.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\, adjective [Akin to stale urine, and to stall, noun; probably from Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. {Stale}, verb (used without an object)]
1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.
2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stale bread.
3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. ''A stale virgin.'' --Spectator.
4. Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; trite; common. --Swift.
Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. --Grew.
How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! --Shak.
{Stale affidavit} (Law), an affidavit held above a year. --Craig.
{Stale demand} (Law), a claim or demand which has not been pressed or demanded for a long time.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\, noun [Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market, F. ['e]tal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place, stable, G. stall (see {Stall}, noun); or from OE. stale theft, AS. stalu (see {Steal}, verb (used with an object)).]
1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.]
Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. --Spenser.
2. A stalking-horse. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
3. (Chess) A stalemate. [Obs.] --Bacon.
4. A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] --Shak.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Stale \Stale\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Staled} (st[=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Staling}.] To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out.
Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
stale
adjective
1: showing deterioration from age; "stale bread" [ant: {fresh}]
2: lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new; "moth-eaten theories about race" [syn: {old}, {moth-eaten}]
3: no longer new; uninteresting; "cold (or stale) news" [syn: {cold}]
verb: urinate, of cattle and horses
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
120 Moby Thesaurus words for "stale": allurement, antiquated, back-number, bait, banal, bewhiskered, blown, boring, bromidic, cliche, cliched, come-on, common, commonplace, corny, crumbling, cut-and-dried, dead, decoy, dilapidated, dilute, diluted, dry, dusty, enticement, fade, familiar, fetid, flat, flavorless, frowy, fusty, gamy, gone off, gone to seed, gruelly, hackney, hackneyed, hand-me-down, hardened, high, inane, indifferent, insipid, jejune, limp, mild, mildewed, milk-and-water, moldering, moldy, moss-grown, moth-eaten, mouldy, musty, noisome, off, old, old hat, old-fashioned, overused, pappy, platitudinous, pulpy, rancid, rank, reechy, reeking, rotten, ruined, ruinous, rusty, sapless, savorless, seducement, set, shopworn, smelly, snare, sour, soured, spiceless, spoiled, square, stenchy, stereotyped, stinking, stock, strong, tainted, tasteless, temptation, thin, threadbare, time-scarred, timeworn, tired, tiresome, trap, trite, truistic, turned, unflavored, unoriginal, unsavory, vapid, warmed-over, washy, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, weary, well-known, well-worn, wilted, wishy-washy, withered, worn, worn thin
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