stalking
[staw-king]
- the act or an instance of stalking, or harassing another in an aggressive, often threatening and illegal manner: Stalking is now a crime in many states.
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- of or relating to the act of pursuing or harassing: Stalking laws have alleviated some problems for famous people.
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Origin of stalking
stalk2
[stawk]
- to pursue or approach prey, quarry, etc., stealthily.
- to walk with measured, stiff, or haughty strides: He was so angry he stalked away without saying goodbye.
- to proceed in a steady, deliberate, or sinister manner: Famine stalked through the nation.
- Obsolete. to walk or go stealthily along.
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- to pursue (game, a person, etc.) stealthily.
- to proceed through (an area) in search of prey or quarry: to stalk the woods for game.
- to proceed or spread through in a steady or sinister manner: Disease stalked the land.
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- an act or course of stalking quarry, prey, or the like: We shot the mountain goat after a five-hour stalk.
- a slow, stiff stride or gait.
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Origin of stalk2
1250–1300; Middle English stalken (v.), representing the base of Old English bestealcian to move stealthily, stealcung stalking (gerund); akin to steal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for stalking
Contemporary Examples
ARS identified what it called the “stalker gap,” where people convicted of stalking as a misdemeanor can still carry guns.
There has also been an outpouring of sympathy and shared stories from other women who have been victims of stalking.
See the back-and-forth allegations of stalking and text-message harassment.
Lady Gaga and Perez Hilton’s Wild Feud: Stalking Allegations and Smear CampaignsThe Daily Beast
August 19, 2013
He knew of the history, he knew of the stalking behavior, and he was done with her.
Tennis prodigy turned tabloid staple Jennifer Capriati is once again in trouble with the law—charged with stalking an ex.
Historical Examples
If he cannot get within the hundred yards by stalking, then he should refuse the chance.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
Jim describes their hunt as the most wonderful bit of stalking he had ever seen.
The ForestStewart Edward White
Especially adept did he become in stalking small living things.
White FangJack London
He was stalking about the room now, with his hands in his pockets, whistling.
The Great HungerJohan Bojer
He had no thoughts for aught else but the triumph of his stalking.
The Fiery TotemArgyll Saxby
stalk1
- the main stem of a herbaceous plant
- any of various subsidiary plant stems, such as a leafstalk (petiole) or flower stalk (peduncle)
- a slender supporting structure in animals such as crinoids and certain protozoans, coelenterates, and barnacles
- any long slender supporting shaft or column
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Word Origin
C14: probably a diminutive formed from Old English stalu upright piece of wood; related to Old Frisian staal handle
stalk2
- to follow or approach (game, prey, etc) stealthily and quietly
- to pursue persistently and, sometimes, attack (a person with whom one is obsessed, often a celebrity)
- to spread over (a place) in a menacing or grim mannerfever stalked the camp
- (intr) to walk in a haughty, stiff, or threatening wayhe stalked out in disgust
- to search or draw (a piece of land) for prey
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- the act of stalking
- a stiff or threatening stride
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Word Origin
Old English bestealcian to walk stealthily; related to Middle Low German stolkeren, Danish stalke
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 stalking
stalk
n.
"stem of a plant," early 14c., probably a diminutive (with -k suffix) of stale "one of the uprights of a ladder, handle, stalk," from Old English stalu "wooden part" (as of a harp), from Proto-Germanic *stalo; related to Old English steala "stalk, support," and steall "place" (see stall (n.1)).
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stalk
v.1
"pursue stealthily," Old English -stealcian, as in bestealcian "to steal along," from Proto-Germanic *stalkojanan, probably from a frequentative of the root of steal (cf. hark from hear, talk from tell). Or it may be from a sense of stalk (v.1), influenced by stalk (n.). Meaning "harass obsessively" first recorded 1991. Related: Stalked; stalking.
A stalking-horse was literally a horse trained to allow a fowler to conceal himself behind it to get within range of the game; figurative sense of "person who participates in a proceeding to disguise its real purpose" is recorded from 1610s.
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stalk
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
stalk
(stôk)- A slender or elongated support or structure, as one that connects or supports an organ.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
stalk
[stôk]
- The main stem of a plant.
- A slender structure that supports a plant part, such as a flower or leaf.
- A slender supporting structure in certain other organisms, such as the reproductive structure in plasmodial slime molds or the part of a mushroom below the cap.
- A slender supporting or connecting part of an animal, such as the eyestalk of a lobster.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.