staple

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, historical, uncountable) A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
2. (broadly, countable, uncountable) Place of supply; source.
3. (countable, uncountable) The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
4. (countable, uncountable) A basic or essential supply.
5. (countable, uncountable) A recurring topic or character.
6. (countable, uncountable) Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
7. (countable, uncountable) Unmanufactured material; raw material.

Verb

To sort according to its staple.

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
2. (not-comparable) Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
3. (not-comparable) Fit to be sold; marketable.
4. (not-comparable) Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.

Verb

To secure with a staple.

Synonyms

clamp

🗜️

brace

parenthesis

basic

holdfast

hasp

cramp

bracket

principal

main

raw material

staple fiber

staple fibre

prime

stitch

texture

fiber

step

main product

leading

chief

lead

lint

marrow

master

material

paramount

peg

pith

primal

primary

rivet

roughage

rudimentary

sew

sort

string

🪢

stud

stuffing

substance

underlying

web

wick

wool

staple food

metal ring

circular groove

attachment clip

staple bolt

circular trench

Translations

grapa

agrafe

grampo

🗜️

Heftklammer

klamp

haakje

nietje

kramp

Krampe

parêntese

agrafer

graffetta

Klammer

🗜️

laña

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsteɪ.pəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: staple

Inherited from Middle English: stapel

Inherited from Old English: stapol

Cognate with Old English: steppan

Cognate with Old French: estaple

In summary

From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.