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Staple
Definitions
- 1 Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities. not-comparable
"a staple town"
- 2 Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled. not-comparable
"a staple trade"
- 3 Fit to be sold; marketable. not-comparable
"What needy writer would not solicit to work under such masters, who will pay us beforehand, take off as much of our ware as we please, at our own rates, and trouble not themselves to examine, either before or after they have bought it, whether it be staple, or not."
- 4 Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief. not-comparable
"wool, the great staple commodity of England"
- 1 necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities wordnet
- 1 A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR2756). countable, uncountable
- 2 A habitational surname from Middle English. countable, uncountable
- 1 A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group. countable, historical, uncountable
"The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade."
- 2 Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.; A wire fastener, made of thin wire, used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
"They stapled the documents with an office stapler, putting a staple in the top left corner of each one."
- 3 (usually in the plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant wordnet
- 4 Place of supply; source. broadly, countable, uncountable
"Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that anything important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head."
- 5 Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.; A wire fastener, in any of various sizes, used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
"They stapled the housewrap with a staple gun firing large staples."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 paper fastener consisting of a short length of U-shaped wire that can fasten papers together wordnet
- 7 The principal commodity produced in a town or region. countable, uncountable
"The old staple of coal is a declining traffic; and what remains tends to be hauled a shorter distance, as new power stations are sited closer to coalfields."
- 8 Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire.; A U-shaped wire fastener, made of thick wire, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
"The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence posts."
- 9 a short U-shaped wire nail wordnet
- 10 A basic or essential supply. countable, uncountable
"Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures."
- 11 One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
"Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water."
- 12 material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing wordnet
- 13 A recurring topic or character. countable, uncountable
"In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple."
- 14 A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
- 15 a natural fiber (raw cotton, wool, hemp, flax) that can be twisted to form yarn wordnet
- 16 Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread. countable, uncountable
"Tow is flax with short staple."
- 17 A small pit.
- 18 Unmanufactured material; raw material. countable, uncountable
- 19 A district granted to an abbey.
"[Henry II] also granted liberty of coyning to certain Cities and Abbies, allowing them one staple and two puncheons at a rate, with certain restrictions."
- 20 a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining, gathering, or binding materials together. countable, uncountable
- 21 A post; prop; support obsolete
- 1 To sort according to its staple. transitive
"to staple cotton"
- 2 To secure with a staple. transitive
- 3 secure or fasten with a staple or staples wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
From Middle English stapel (“staple, pillar, post”), from Old English stapol (“post, pillar”), from Proto-West Germanic *stapul, from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). See also Old English steppan (“to step”) and Old French estaple (“post”). Consider also stapes (“stirrup”), from Latin. Doublet of étape and etymology 1.
From Middle English stapel (“staple, pillar, post”), from Old English stapol (“post, pillar”), from Proto-West Germanic *stapul, from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). See also Old English steppan (“to step”) and Old French estaple (“post”). Consider also stapes (“stirrup”), from Latin. Doublet of étape and etymology 1.
From Middle English stapel (“staple”).
See also for "staple"
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