Shak.
For flattering planets seemed to say This child should ills of ages stay.
Emerson.
8. (Engin.) To fasten or secure with stays; as, to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler.
9. (Naut.) To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind.
To stay a mast (Naut.), to incline it forward or aft, or to one side, by the stays and backstays.
Stay (?), v. i. [√163. See Stay to hold up, prop.] 1. To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still.
She would command the hasty sun to stay.
Spenser.
Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first.
Dryden.
I stay a little longer, as one stays To cover up the embers that still burn.
Longfellow.
2. To continue in a state.
The flames augment, and stay At their full height, then languish to decay.
Dryden.
3. To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
I'll tell thee all my whole device When I am in my coach, which stays for us.
Shak.
The father can not stay any longer for the fortune.
Locke.
4. To dwell; to tarry; to linger.
I must stay a little on one action.
Dryden.
5. To rest; to depend; to rely; to stand; to insist.
I stay here on my bond.
Shak.
Ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon.
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section S · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.