What is "stall"

Stall \Stall\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stalled (st[add]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Stalling.] [Cf. Sw. stalla, Dan. stalde.]

1. To put into a stall or stable; to keep in a stall or stalls; as, to stall an ox.

   Where King Latinus then his oxen stalled.
   --Dryden.

2. To fatten; as, to stall cattle. [Prov. Eng.]

3. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

4. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix; as, to stall a cart.
   --Burton.

   His horses had been stalled in the snow.
   --E. E. Hale.

5. To forestall; to anticipate. [Obs.]

   This is not to be stall'd by my report.
   --Massinger.

6. To keep close; to keep secret. [Obs.]

   Stall this in your bosom.
   --Shak.

Stall \Stall\ (st[add]l), n. [OE. stal, AS. steall, stall, a place, seat, or station, a stable; akin to D. & OHG. stal, G. & Sw. stall, Icel. stallr, Dan. stald, originally, a standing place; akin also to G. stelle a place, stellen to place, Gr. ste`llein to set, place, send, and E. stand. [root]163. See Stand, and cf. Apostle, Epistle, Forestall, Install, Stale, a. & v. i., 1st Stalk, Stallion, Still.]

1. A stand; a station; a fixed spot; hence, the stand or place where a horse or an ox is kept and fed; the division of a stable, or the compartment, for one horse, ox, or other animal. ``In an oxes stall.''
   --Chaucer.

2. A stable; a place for cattle.

   At last he found a stall where oxen stood.
   --Dryden.

3. A small apartment or shed in which merchandise is exposed for sale; as, a butcher's stall; a bookstall.

4. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.

   How peddlers' stalls with glittering toys are laid.
   --Gay.

5. A seat in the choir of a church, for one of the officiating clergy. It is inclosed, either wholly or partially, at the back and sides. The stalls are frequently very rich, with canopies and elaborate carving.

   The dignified clergy, out of humility, have called their thrones by the names of stalls.
   --Bp. Warburton.

   Loud the monks sang in their stalls.
   --Longfellow.

6. In the theater, a seat with arms or otherwise partly inclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.

7. (Mining) The space left by excavation between pillars. See Post and stall, under Post.

8. A covering or sheath, as of leather, horn, of iron, for a finger or thumb; a cot; as, a thumb stall; a finger stall.

   Stall reader, one who reads books at a stall where they are exposed for sale.

   Cries the stall reader, ``Bless us! what a word on A titlepage is this!''
   --Milton.

Stall \Stall\, v. i. [AS. steallian to have room. See Stall, n.]

1. To live in, or as in, a stall; to dwell. [Obs.]

   We could not stall together In the whole world.
   --Shak.

2. To kennel, as dogs.
   --Johnson.

3. To be set, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.

4. To be tired of eating, as cattle. [Prov. Eng.]

1590s, "distract a victim and thus screen a pickpocket from observation," from stall (n.2) "decoy." Meaning "to precaricate, be evasive, play for time" is attested from 1903. Related: Stalled; stalling. Compare old slang stalling ken "house for receiving stolen goods" (1560s).

"to come to a stand" (intransitive), c.1400; "to become stuck or be set fast," mid-15c., from Old French estale or Old English steall (see stall (n.1)). Transitive sense "place in office, install" is 14c.; specifically "place an animal in a stall" (late 14c.). Of engines or engine-powered vehicles, it is attested from 1904 (transitive), 1914 (intransitive); of aircraft "to lose lift," 1910. Related: Stalled; stalling.

"action of losing lift, power, or motion," 1918 of aircraft, 1959 of automobile engines, from stall (v.1).

"place in a stable for animals," Old English steall "standing place, position, state; place where cattle are kept, fishing ground," from Proto-Germanic *stalla- (cognates: Old Norse stallr "pedestal for idols, altar; crib, manger," Old Frisian stal, Old High German stall "stand, place, stable, stall," German Stall "stable," Stelle "place"), from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand," with derivatives referring to a standing object or place (cognates: Greek stele "standing block, slab," stellein "to set in order, arrange, array, equip, make ready;" Latin stolidus "insensible, dull, brutish," properly "unmovable").\n

\nMeaning "partially enclosed seat in a choir" is attested from c.1400; that of "urinal in a men's room" is from 1967. Several meanings, including that of "a stand for selling" (mid-13c., implied in stallage), probably are from (or influenced by) Anglo-French and Old French estal "station, position; stall of a stable; stall in a market; a standing still; a standing firm" (12c., Modern French étal "butcher's stall"). This, along with Italian stallo "place," stalla "stable" is a borrowing from a Germanic source from the same root as the native English word.

"pretense or evasive story to avoid doing something," 1812, from earlier sense "thief's assistant" (1590s, also staller), from a variant of stale "bird used as a decoy to lure other birds" (mid-15c.), from Anglo-French estale "decoy, pigeon used to lure a hawk" (13c., compare stool pigeon), literally "standstill," from Old French estal "place, stand, stall," from Frankish *stal- "position," ultimately from Germanic and cognate with Old English steall (see stall (n.1)). Compare Old English stælhran "decoy reindeer," German stellvogel "decoy bird." Figurative sense of "deception, means of allurement" is first recorded 1520s. Also see stall (v.2).\n\nThe stallers up are gratified with such part of the gains acquired as the liberality of the knuckling gentlemen may prompt them to bestow. [J.H. Vaux, "Flash Dictionary," 1812]

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context countable English) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed. 2 A stable; a place for cattle. 3 A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale. 4 (context countable English) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market. 5 A very small room used for a shower or a toilet. 6 (context countable English) A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc. 7 (context aeronautics English) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded. 8 (context paganism and Heathenry English) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor ''harrow''. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To put (an animal etc) in a stall. 2 To fatten. 3 (context intransitive English) To come to a standstill. 4 To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix. 5 (context intransitive aeronautics English) To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in total loss of lift. 6 (context obsolete English) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell. 7 (context obsolete English) To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast. 8 (context obsolete English) To be tired of eating, as cattle. 9 To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install. 10 To forestall; to anticipate. 11 To keep close; to keep secret. Etymology 2

n. An action that is intended to cause or actually causes delay. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To employ delaying tactics against 2 (context intransitive English) To employ delaying tactics

1. n. a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed

2. small area set off by walls for special use [syn: booth, cubicle, kiosk]

3. a booth where articles are displayed for sale [syn: stand, sales booth]

4. a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge; "the plane went into a stall and I couldn't control it"

5. small individual study area in a library [syn: carrel, carrell, cubicle]

6. a tactic used to mislead or delay [syn: stalling]

1. v. postpone doing what one should be doing; "He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days" [syn: procrastinate, drag one's feet, drag one's heels, shillyshally, dilly-dally, dillydally]

2. come to a stop; "The car stalled in the driveway" [syn: conk]

3. deliberately delay an event or action; "she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling"

4. put into, or keep in, a stall; "Stall the horse"

5. experience a stall in flight, of airplanes

6. cause an airplane to go into a stall

7. cause an engine to stop; "The inexperienced driver kept stalling the car"

Stalls in fixed-wing flight are often experienced as a sudden reduction in lift as the pilot increases the wing's angle of attack and exceeds its critical angle of attack (which may be due to slowing down below stall speed in level flight). A stall does not mean that the engine(s) have stopped working, or that the aircraft has stopped moving — the effect is the same even in an unpowered glider aircraft. Vectored thrust in manned and unmanned aircraft is used to surpass the stall limit, thereby giving rise to post-stall technology.

Because stalls are most commonly discussed in connection with aviation, this article discusses stalls as they relate mainly to aircraft, in particular fixed-wing aircraft. The principles of stall discussed here translate to foils in other fluids as well.

__NOTOC__ Stall may refer to:

A stall of an engine refers to a sudden stopping of the engine turning, usually brought about accidentally.

It is commonly applied to the phenomenon whereby an engine abruptly ceases operating and stops turning. It might be due to not getting enough air, fuel, or electric spark, mechanical failure, or in response to a sudden increase in engine load. This increase in engine load is common in vehicles with a manual transmission when the clutch is released too suddenly.

The ways in which a car can stall is usually down to the driver, especially on manual transmission. For instance if a driver engages the clutch too quickly while stationary then the engine will stall; engaging the clutch slowly will stop this from happening. Stalling also happens when the driver forgets to depress the clutch and/or change to neutral while coming to a stop. Stalling can be dangerous, especially in heavy traffic.

A car fitted with an automatic transmission could also have its engine stalled when the vehicle is travelling in the opposite direction to the selected gear. For example, if the selector is in the 'D' position and the car is moving backwards, (on a steep enough hill to overcome the torque from the torque converter) the engine will stall. This is because, hypothetically, if the car is rolling backward fast enough, the force from the rotating wheels will be transmitted backward through the transmission and act as a sudden load on the engine.

Digital electronics fuel injection and ECU ignition systems have greatly reduced stalling in modern engines.