sty

[stahy]

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noun, plural sties.

a pen or enclosure for swine; pigpen.

any filthy place or abode.

a place of bestial debauchery.

verb (used with object), stied, sty·ing.

to keep or lodge in or as if in a sty.

verb (used without object), stied, sty·ing.

to live in or as if in a sty.

Origin of sty

before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English *stī in stī-fearh sty-pig; probably identical with stig- in stigweard steward; cognate with Old Norse stī, Dutch stijg, German Steige

sty

or stye

[stahy]

noun, plural sties. Ophthalmology.

a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.

Origin of sty

1610–20; by false division of Middle English styanye sty (styan (Old English stīgend sty, literally, rising) + ye eye), taken to be sty on eye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sty

pen, pigpen, hole, pigsty, dump, shack, den, hovel, hordeolum

Examples from the Web for sty

Historical Examples of sty

"This is what love can be these days, foul as two pigs in a sty," said the harbor.
The Harbor
Ernest Poole
You're in Bermondsey, mister, an' if you tyke my advice you'll go 'ome an' sty 'ome.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
Do you know why you are fed so well while you stay in this sty?
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
Here, nine out of every ten of the guarijos we've seen, live like hogs in a sty.
Plotting in Pirate Seas
Francis Rolt-Wheeler
For a while, I and my brother lived on in that sty and kept ourselves.
Novel Notes
Jerome K. Jerome

British Dictionary definitions for sty

sty

noun plural sties

a pen in which pigs are housed and fed

any filthy or corrupt place

verb sties, stying or stied

to enclose or be enclosed in a sty

Word Origin for sty

Old English stig; related to Old Norse stīa pen, fold, Old High German stīga, Middle Dutch stije

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 sty

n.1

"pen for pigs," Old English sti, stig "hall, pen" (in sti-fearh), from Proto-Germanic *stijan (cf. Old Norse stia "sty, kennel," Old High German stiga "pen for small cattle").

n.2

"inflamed swelling in the eyelid," 1610s, probably a back-formation from Middle English styany (as though sty on eye), mid-15c., from Old English stigend "sty," literally "riser," from present participle of stigan "go up, rise," from Proto-Germanic *stig- (see stair).

sty in Medicine

sty

n. pl. sties

Inflammation of one or more sebaceous glands of an eyelid.hordeolum