| stack | 1. A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, usually of a nearly conical form, but sometimes rectangular or oblong, contracted at the top to a point or ridge, and sometimes covered with thatch. "But corn was housed, and beans were in the stack." (Cowper) 2. A pile of poles or wood, indefinite in quantity. "Against every pillar was a stack of billets above a man's height." (Bacon) 3. A pile of wood containing 108 cubic feet. 4. A number of flues embodied in one structure, rising above the roof. Hence: Any single insulated and prominent structure, or upright pipe, which affords a conduit for smoke; as, the brick smokestack of a factory; the smokestack of a steam vessel. Stack of arms, a number of muskets or rifles set up together, with the bayonets crossing one another, forming a sort of conical self-supporting pile. Origin: Icel. Stakkr; akin to Sw. Stack, Dan. Stak. Sf. Stake. To lay in a conical or other pile; to make into a large pile; as, to stack hay, cornstalks, or grain; to stack or place wood. To stack arms, to set up a number of muskets or rifles together, with the bayonets crossing one another, and forming a sort of conical pile. Origin: Cf. Sw. Stacka, Dan. Stakke. See Stack. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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