stalk

Meaning

Noun

1. The stem or main axis of a plant.
2. The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant.
3. Something resembling the stalk of a plant, such as the stem of a quill.
4. An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.
5. One of the two upright pieces of a ladder.
6. A stem or peduncle, as in certain barnacles and crinoids.
7. The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect.
8. The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.
9. An iron bar with projections inserted in a core to strengthen it; a core arbor.
10. Informally, a construction which generalizes that of the notion of the ring of germs of functions near a point to the context of arbitrary sheaves. Formally, given a sheaf ℱ on a space X, and a point x in X, the direct limit of the sections of F on the open neighborhoods of x ordered by reverse inclusion. See Stalk (sheaf) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
11. (slang) The penis.

Verb

1. (transitive) To approach slowly and quietly in order not to be discovered when getting closer.
2. (transitive) To (try to) follow or contact someone constantly, often resulting in harassment.ᵂᵖ
3. (intransitive) To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner.
4. (intransitive) To walk behind something, such as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under cover.

Verb

To walk haughtily.

Synonyms

stem

trunk

still hunt

stipe

creep

stalking

stubble

peduncle

follow

sneak

straw

lie in wait

chaff

tail

caudex

haulm

shuck

haunt

shaft

husk

steal

pedicel

waylay

tree trunk

pedicle

ear of corn

stump

stub

base

stride

trail

sneak up on

line

leg

🦵

brush

axis

helve

spy on

rod

scape

pursue

queue

persecute

petiole

pace

chase

prowl

shank

strut

approach stealthily

Translations

tige

Stiel

stengel

tallo

gambo

steel

Stängel

Stengel

halm

haste

traquer

caule

guetter

⌚

chaume

Pronounced as (IPA)

/stɔːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: stalke

Inherited from Old English: *stealc

Cognate with Old High German: *stelh

Cognate with Danish: stilk

Cognate with Swedish: stjälk

Cognate with Icelandic: stilkur

Cognate with Middle English: stale

Cognate with Old English: stalu

Cognate with Middle Low German: stal

Cognate with Old English: stela

Cognate with Albanian: shtalkë

Cognate with Welsh: telm

Cognate with Ancient Greek: στειλειή

Cognate with Classical Armenian: ստեղն

Inherited from Middle English: stalken

Inherited from Old English: *stealcian

Cognate with Dutch: stelkeren

Cognate with Danish: stalke

Cognate with Norwegian: -

In summary

From Middle English stalke, stelke, stalk, perhaps from Old English *stealc, *stielc, *stealuc, from Proto-West Germanic *staluk, *stalik, from Proto-Germanic *stalukaz, *stalikaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *stalô, *staluz (“support, stem, stalk”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, stand; be stiff; stud, post, trunk, stake, stem, stalk”).
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch staal (“sample”), steel (“stem”), German Stiel (“stalk”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål stilk (“stalk, stem”), Faroese stjølur (“bottom part of a sheaf”), Icelandic stilkur (“stalk, stem”), Norwegian Nynorsk stilk, stylk (“stalk, stem”), styl (“lower part of a straw”), Swedish stjälk (“stalk, stem”), Albanian shtalkë (“crossbeam, board used as a door hinge”), Welsh telm (“frond”), Ancient Greek στειλειή (steileiḗ, “beam”), Old Armenian ստեղն (stełn, “trunk, stalk”).