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stall

/stɔːl/ noun

In Latin: mandra, praesaepe Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about stall at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed.
  2. Small area set off by walls for special use.
  3. A booth where articles are displayed for sale.

verb

  1. Postpone doing what one should be doing.
    He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days
  2. Come to a stop.
    The car stalled in the driveway
  3. Deliberately delay an event or action.
    she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling

Origin

From Middle English stall, stalle, from Old English steall (“standing place, position”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, put, post, stand”). Cognate with French étal, Italian stallo, German Stall, Swedish stall.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)