Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of stay.
  • noun plurale tantum A corset.
  • verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of stay.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a woman's close-fitting foundation garment

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • I. i.9 (230,3) [stays me here at home, unkept] [W: Stys] _Sties_ is better than _stays_, and more likely to be Shakespeare's.

    Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies Samuel Johnson 1746

  • "It's kind of like Menudo," Camp Director Jeff Stone says, "The characters change, but the name stays the same."

    Mary Pauline Lowry: Is Johnny Z. the New Justin Bieber? A Chicago Summer Camp Creates a New Teen Star Mary Pauline Lowry 2011

  • "It's kind of like Menudo," Camp Director Jeff Stone says, "The characters change, but the name stays the same."

    Mary Pauline Lowry: Is Johnny Z. the New Justin Bieber? A Chicago Summer Camp Creates a New Teen Star Mary Pauline Lowry 2011

  • And the word stays in the room, hovering around and changing the air with its own sick-scented falseness.

    The Redleys Matt Haig 2010

  • And the word stays in the room, hovering around and changing the air with its own sick-scented falseness.

    The Redleys Matt Haig 2010

  • And the word stays in the room, hovering around and changing the air with its own sick-scented falseness.

    The Redleys Matt Haig 2010

  • And the word stays in the room, hovering around and changing the air with its own sick-scented falseness.

    The Redleys Matt Haig 2010

  • Mybe he is like a US president, and the title stays with you until death.

    Valenti usurps Glickman 2004

  • He may have claimed a week ago that a draw would suffice to ensure the title stays with Inter for the fourth year in a row, but his president Massimo Moratti insists the team will still go out with the intention of winning.

    unknown title 2009

  • He may have claimed a week ago that a draw would suffice to ensure the title stays with Inter for the fourth year in a row, but his president Massimo Moratti insists the team will still go out with the intention of winning.

    Soccerway.com 2009

Comments

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  • Also "pair of stays." In the plural, a laced underbodice, stiffened by the insertion of strips of whale-bone, metal, or wood, worn by women (sometimes by men) to give shape and support to the figure. The use of the plural is due to the fact that stays were originally made in two pieces laced together. Like a corset, but not quite the same (esp. as worn in the eighteenth century).

    February 13, 2007

  • I'd like to know WHY the word "stays" began to be used in the 18th century. I've read "stays" were also ropes (and metal supports?) on a ship to help tie things down...help things STAY put. Because "stays" is used in a time when whaling was an integral process in the garments' production, is it possible there's a connection? Yes, a different garment from a corset (highly stiffened) and a "pair of bodys," worn primarily on the outside...but why the word "stays?"

    December 27, 2012