| Stahli, Jean | <person> Swiss ophthalmologist, *1890. See: Hudson-Stahli line. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| stahlian | Pertaining to, or taught by, Stahl, a German physician and chemist of the 17th century; as, the Stahlian theory of phlogiston. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stain | 1. To discolour by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood. 2. To colour, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processess affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a colour or colours combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with acids, coloured washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain glass. 3. To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish. "Of honor void, Of innocence, of faith, of purity, Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained." (Milton) 4. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison. "She stains the ripest virgins of her age." (Beau. & Fl) "That did all other beasts in beauty stain." (Spenser) Stained glass, glass coloured or stained by certain metallic pigments fused into its substance, often used for making ornament windows. Synonym: To paint, dye, blot, soil, sully, discolour, disgrace, taint. Paint, Stain, Dye. These denote three different processes; the first mechanical, the other two, chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is so spread a coat of colouring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is to impart colour to its substance. To stain is said chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one, commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the other more complex, as fixing colours by mordants. Origin: Abbrev. Fr. Distain. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stainer | 1. One who stains or tarnishes. 2. A workman who stains; as, a stainer of wood. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| staining | The use of a dye, reagent, or other material for producing colouration in tissues or microorganisms for microscopic examination. (12 Dec 1998) |
| stainless steel | <chemical> Stainless steel. A steel containing ni, cr, or both. It does not tarnish on exposure and is used in corrosive environments. Chemical name: Stainless steel (12 Dec 1998) |
| stains-all | 4,5,4',5'-Dibenzo-3,3'-diethyl-9-methylthiocarbocyanine bromide;a dye that stains phosphoproteins blue, proteins red, nucleic acids purple, and mucoproteins and mucopolysaccharides various colours on acrylamide gels; also used on tissue sections. (05 Mar 2000) |
| staircase | A flight of stairs with their supporting framework, casing, balusters, etc. "To make a complete staircase is a curious piece of architecture." (Sir H. Wotton) Staircase shell. <zoology> Any scalaria, or wentletrap. Any species of Solarium, or perspective shell. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| staircase phenomenon | A phenomenon in cardiac muscle first observed by H.P. Bowditch; if a number of stimuli of the same intensity are sent into the muscle after a quiescent period, the first few contractions of the series show a successive increase in amplitude (strength). Synonym: staircase phenomenon. Origin: Ger. Treppe, staircase (05 Mar 2000) |
| stake | 1. To fasten, support, or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or plants. 2. To mark the limits of by stakes; with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road. 3. To put at hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency; to wager; to pledge. "I'll stake yon lamb, that near the fountain plays." (Pope) 4. To pierce or wound with a stake. Origin: Staked; Staking. 1. A piece of wood, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a support or stay; as, a stake to support vines, fences, hedges, etc. "A sharpened stake strong Dryas found." (Dryden) 2. A stick inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, a flat car, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off. 3. The piece of timber to which a martyr was affixed to be burned; hence, martyrdom by fire. 4. A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc, for light work, punching upon, etc. 5. That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge. at stake, in danger; hazarded; pledged. "I see my reputation is at stake." Origin: AS. Staca, from the root of E. Stick; akin to OFries. & LG. Stake, D. Staak, Sw. Stake, Dan. Stage. See Stick, and cf. Estacade, Stockade. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stake-driver | <zoology> The common American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus); so called because one of its notes resembles the sound made in driving a stake into the mud. Synonym: meadow hen, and Indian hen. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stalactical | <geology> Stalactic. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stalactite | Origin: Gr. Oozing out in drops, dropping, fr. To drop: cf. F. Stalactite. <geology> A pendent cone or cylinder of calcium carbonate resembling an icicle in form and mode of attachment. Stalactites are found depending from the roof or sides of caverns, and are produced by deposition from waters which have percolated through, and partially dissolved, the overlying limestone rocks. In an extended sense, any mineral or rock of similar form and origin; as, a stalactite of lava. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stalactitical | <geology> Of or pertaining to a stalactite; having the form or characters of a stalactite; stalactic. Origin: Cf. F. Stalactitique. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stalagmite | <geology> A deposit more or less resembling an inverted stalactite, formed by calcareous water dropping on the floors of caverns; hence, a similar deposit of other material. Origin: Gr. That which drops, a drop, fr. To drop; cf. F. Stalagmite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |