definitions

stale

1
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
||
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adjective, stal·er, stal·est.

not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.
musty; stagnant: stale air.
having lost novelty or interest; hackneyed; trite: a stale joke.
having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.
Law. having lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.

verb (used with or without object), staled, stal·ing.

to make or become stale.

RELATED WORDS

sear, evaporate, scorch, wither, decay, deteriorate, blister, blacken, parch, melt, char, bake, dwindle, wilt, shrink, exhaust, drain, blot, deplete, shrivel

Nearby words

stalactites, stalag, stalagmite, stalagmites, stalagmometer, stale, stale bull, stalemate, stalin, stalin peak, stalin's purge trials

Origin of stale

1
1250–1300; Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch stel in same sense; perhaps akin to stand or to stale2
Related formsstale·ly, adverbstale·ness, noun

Definition for staled (2 of 2)

stale

2
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /

verb (used without object), staled, stal·ing.

(of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.

Origin of stale

2
1400–50; late Middle English stalen to urinate; cognate with German stallen, Danish stalle, Norwegian, Swedish stalla
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for staled

British Dictionary definitions for staled (1 of 2)

stale

1
/ (steɪl) /

adjective

verb

to make or become stale
Derived Formsstalely, adverbstaleness, noun

Word Origin for stale

C13 (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to stall 1, install

British Dictionary definitions for staled (2 of 2)

stale

2
/ (steɪl) /

verb

(intr) (of livestock) to urinate

noun

the urine of horses or cattle

Word Origin for stale

C15: perhaps from Old French estaler to stand in one position; see stall 1; compare Middle Low German stallen to urinate, Greek stalassein to drip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for staled

stale

adj.

c.1300, "freed from dregs or lees" (of ale, wine, etc.), i.e. "having stood long enough to clear," cognate with Middle Dutch stel "stale" (of beer), and probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic base *sta- "stand," the source of Old English standan "to stand," Perhaps via Old French estaler "halt," from Frankish *stal- "position" (see stall (n.1)). The meaning "not fresh" is first recorded late 15c. Figurative sense (of immaterial things) is recorded from 1560s. Related: Staleness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper