stale

Meaning

Noun

Something stale; a loaf of bread or the like that is no longer fresh.

Adj

1. (obsolete) Clear, free of dregs and lees; old and strong.
2. No longer fresh, in reference to food, urine, straw, wounds, etc.
3. No longer fresh, new, or interesting, in reference to ideas and immaterial things; clichéd, hackneyed, dated.
4. (obsolete) No longer nubile or suitable for marriage, in reference to people; past one's prime.
5. (usually) Not new or recent; having been in place or in effect for some time.
6. (obsolete) Fallow, in reference to land.
7. Unreasonably long in coming, in reference to claims and actions.
8. Worn out, particularly due to age or over-exertion, in reference to athletes and animals in competition.
9. Out of date, unpaid for an unreasonable amount of time, particularly in reference to checks.
10. Of data: out of date; not synchronized with the newest copy.

Verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make stale; to age in order to clear and strengthen (a drink, especially beer).
2. (transitive) To make stale; to cause to go out of fashion or currency; to diminish the novelty or interest of, particularly by excessive exposure or consumption.
3. (intransitive) To become stale; to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption.
4. (intransitive) To become stale; to grow unpleasant from age.

Verb

To make a ladder by joining rungs ("stales") between the posts.

Adj

At a standstill; stalemated.

Verb

1. (transitive, uncommon) To stalemate.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To be stalemated.

Verb

To urinate, especially used of horses and cattle.

Verb

To serve as a decoy, to lure.

Synonyms

musty

trite

not fresh

stuffy

old

🧓

cold

🥶

rancid

spoiled

hackneyed

dry

stagnant

moldy

tasteless

flat

hard

rotten

insipid

threadbare

bad

👎

obsolete

foul

urinate

urine

weary

😩

moth-eaten

frowzy

fusty

close

sour

putrid

old-hat

dusty

rank

strong-smelling

tired

😫

muck-water

mouldy

trivial

tainted

tame

timeworn

torn

uninteresting

unpractised

unskillful

unventilated

well-worn

worn

worn-out

cliched

Translations

rassis

altbacken

pasado

muf

rancio

stantio

abgestanden

démodé

manido

veraltet

benauwd

purin

usé

goor

bayat

Pronounced as (IPA)

/steɪl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: stale

Cognate with West Flemish: stel

Inherited from Old English: stalu

Cognate with Ancient Greek: στελεός

Cognate with French: étal

In summary

From Middle English stale, from Old French estal (“fixed position, place”), but probably originally from Proto-Germanic *stāną (“to stand”): compare West Flemish stel in the same sense for ‘beer’ and ‘urine’.