What is "stock"

Stock \Stock\ (st[o^]k), n. [AS. stocc a stock, trunk, stick; akin to D. stok, G. stock, OHG. stoc, Icel. stokkr, Sw. stock, Dan. stok, and AS. stycce a piece; cf. Skr. tuj to urge, thrust. Cf. Stokker, Stucco, and Tuck a rapier.]

1. The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed, strong, firm part; the trunk.

   Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
   --Job xiv. 8,9.

2. The stem or branch in which a graft is inserted.

   The scion overruleth the stock quite.
   --Bacon.

3. A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post.

   All our fathers worshiped stocks and stones.
   --Milton.

   Item, for a stock of brass for the holy water, seven shillings; which, by the canon, must be of marble or metal, and in no case of brick.
   --Fuller.

4. Hence, a person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense.

   Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks.
   --Shak.

5. The principal supporting part; the part in which others are inserted, or to which they are attached. Specifically:

   1. The wood to which the barrel, lock, etc., of a rifle or like firearm are secured; also, a long, rectangular piece of wood, which is an important part of several forms of gun carriage.

   2. The handle or contrivance by which bits are held in boring; a bitstock; a brace.

   3. (Joinery) The block of wood or metal frame which constitutes the body of a plane, and in which the plane iron is fitted; a plane stock.

   4. (Naut.) The wooden or iron crosspiece to which the shank of an anchor is attached. See Illust. of Anchor.

   5. The support of the block in which an anvil is fixed, or of the anvil itself.

   6. A handle or wrench forming a holder for the dies for cutting screws; a diestock.

   7. The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness. See Counterfoil. [Eng.]

6. The original progenitor; also, the race or line of a family; the progenitor of a family and his direct descendants; lineage; family.

   And stand betwixt them made, when, severally, All told their stock.
   --Chapman.

   Thy mother was no goddess, nor thy stock From Dardanus.
   --Denham.

7. (Finance) Money or capital which an individual or a firm employs in business; fund; in the United States, the capital of a bank or other company, in the form of transferable shares, each of a certain amount; money funded in government securities, called also the public funds; in the plural, property consisting of shares in joint-stock companies, or in the obligations of a government for its funded debt; -- so in the United States, but in England the latter only are called stocks, and the former shares.

8. (Bookkeeping) Same as Stock account, below.

9. Supply provided; store; accumulation; especially, a merchant's or manufacturer's store of goods; as, to lay in a stock of provisions.

   Add to that stock which justly we bestow.
   --Dryden.

10. (Agric.) Domestic animals or beasts collectively, used or raised on a farm; as, a stock of cattle or of sheep, etc.; -- called also live stock.

11. (Card Playing) That portion of a pack of cards not distributed to the players at the beginning of certain games, as gleek, etc., but which might be drawn from afterward as occasion required; a bank.

    I must buy the stock; send me good cardings.
    --Beau. & Fl.

12. A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado. [Obs.]

13. [Cf. Stocking.] A covering for the leg, or leg and foot; as, upper stocks (breeches); nether stocks (stockings). [Obs.]

    With a linen stock on one leg.
    --Shak.

14. A kind of stiff, wide band or cravat for the neck; as, a silk stock.

15. pl. A frame of timber, with holes in which the feet, or the feet and hands, of criminals were formerly confined by way of punishment.

    He shall rest in my stocks.
    --Piers Plowman.

16. pl. (Shipbuilding) The frame or timbers on which a ship rests while building.

17. pl. Red and gray bricks, used for the exterior of walls and the front of buildings. [Eng.]

18. (Bot.) Any cruciferous plant of the genus Matthiola; as, common stock ( Matthiola incana) (see Gilly-flower); ten-weeks stock ( M. annua).

19. (Geol.) An irregular metalliferous mass filling a large cavity in a rock formation, as a stock of lead ore deposited in limestone.

20. A race or variety in a species.

21. (Biol.) In tectology, an aggregate or colony of persons (see Person), as trees, chains of salp[ae], etc.

22. The beater of a fulling mill.
    --Knight.

23. (Cookery) A liquid or jelly containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, and certain vegetables, etc., extracted by cooking; -- used in making soup, gravy, etc.

24. Raw material; that out of which something is manufactured; as, paper stock.

25. (Soap Making) A plain soap which is made into toilet soap by adding perfumery, coloring matter, etc. Bit stock. See Bitstock. Dead stock (Agric.), the implements of husbandry, and produce stored up for use; -- in distinction from live stock, or the domestic animals on the farm. See def. 10, above. Head stock. See Headstock. Paper stock, rags and other material of which paper is made. Stock account (Bookkeeping), an account on a merchant's ledger, one side of which shows the original capital, or stock, and the additions thereto by accumulation or contribution, the other side showing the amounts withdrawn. Stock car, a railway car for carrying cattle. Stock company (Com.), an incorporated company the capital of which is represented by marketable shares having a certain equal par value. Stock duck (Zo["o]l.), the mallard. Stock exchange.

    1. The building or place where stocks are bought and sold; stock market; hence, transactions of all kinds in stocks.

    2. An association or body of stockbrokers who meet and transact business by certain recognized forms, regulations, and usages. --Wharton. Brande & C. Stock farmer, a farmer who makes it his business to rear live stock. Stock gillyflower (Bot.), the common stock. See Stock, n., 18. Stock gold, gold laid up so as to form a stock, or hoard. Stock in trade, the goods kept for sale by a shopkeeper; the fittings and appliances of a workman. --Simmonds. Stock list, a list of stocks, or shares, dealt in, of transactions, and of prices. Stock lock, a lock inclosed in a wooden case and attached to the face of a door. Stock market.

       1. A place where stocks are bought and sold; the stock exchange.

       2. A market for live stock. Stock pigeon. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Stockdove. Stock purse.

          1. A common purse, as distinguished from a private purse.

          2. (Mil.) Moneys saved out of the expenses of a company or regiment, and applied to objects of common interest. [Eng.] Stock shave, a tool used by blockmakers. Stock station, a place or district for rearing stock. [Australia] --W. Howitt. Stock tackle (Naut.), a tackle used when the anchor is hoisted and secured, to keep its stock clear of the ship's sides. --Totten. Stock taking, an examination and inventory made of goods or stock in a shop or warehouse; -- usually made periodically. Tail stock. See Tailstock. To have something on the stock, to be at work at something. To take stock, to take account of stock; to make an inventory of stock or goods on hand. --Dickens. To take stock in.

             1. To subscribe for, or purchase, shares in a stock company.

             2. To put faith in; to accept as trustworthy; as, to take stock in a person's fidelity. [Slang]

                To take stock of, to take account of the stock of; to take an inventory of; hence, to ascertain the facts in regard to (something). [Eng.]

                At the outset of any inquiry it is proper to take stock of the results obtained by previous explorers of the same field.
                --Leslie Stephen.

                Syn: Fund; capital; store; supply; accumulation; hoard; provision.

Stock \Stock\, a. Used or employed for constant service or application, as if constituting a portion of a stock or supply; standard; permanent; standing; as, a stock actor; a stock play; a stock phrase; a stock response; a stock sermon. ``A stock charge against Raleigh.''
--C. Kingsley.

Stock company (Theater), a company of actors regularly employed at one theater, or permanently acting together in various plays under one management.

Stock \Stock\ (st[o^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stocked (st[o^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Stocking.]

1. To lay up; to put aside for future use; to store, as merchandise, and the like.

2. To provide with material requisites; to store; to fill; to supply; as, to stock a warehouse, that is, to fill it with goods; to stock a farm, that is, to supply it with cattle and tools; to stock land, that is, to occupy it with a permanent growth, especially of grass.

3. To suffer to retain milk for twenty-four hours or more previous to sale, as cows.

4. To put in the stocks. [R.]
   --Shak.

   To stock an anchor (Naut.), to fit it with a stock, or to fasten the stock firmly in place.

   To stock cards (Card Playing), to arrange cards in a certain manner for cheating purposes; -- also called to stack the deck. [Cant]

   To stock down (Agric.), to sow, as plowed land, with grass seed, in order that it may become swarded, and produce grass.

   To stock up, to extirpate; to dig up.

"to supply (a store) with stock," 1620s, from stock (n.2). Meaning "to lay up in store" is from c.1700. Earliest sense is "to imprison in stocks" (early 14c.). Related: Stocked; stocking.

in reference to conversation, literature, "recurring, commonplace" (as in stock phrase), 1738, figurative use from sense "kept in store for constant use" (1620s), from stock (n.2).

Old English stocc "stump, post, stake, tree trunk, log," also "pillory" (usually plural, stocks), from Proto-Germanic *stukkaz "tree trunk" (cognates: Old Norse stokkr "block of wood, trunk of a tree," Old Saxon, Old Frisian stok, Middle Dutch stoc "tree trunk, stump," Dutch stok "stick, cane," Old High German stoc "tree trunk, stick," German Stock "stick, cane;" also Dutch stuk, German Stück "piece"), from PIE *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)).\n

\nMeaning "ancestry, family" (late 14c.) is a figurative use of the "tree trunk" sense (as in family tree). This is also the root of the meaning "heavy part of a tool," and "part of a rifle held against the shoulder" (1540s). Meaning "person as dull and senseless as a block or log" is from c.1300; hence "a dull recipient of action or notice" (1540s).\n

\nMeaning "framework on which a boat was constructed" (early 15c.) led to figurative phrase on stocks "planned and commenced" (1660s). Taking stock "making an inventory" is attested from 1736. Stock, lock, and barrel "the whole of a thing" is recorded from 1817. Stock-still (late 15c.) is literally "as still as a tree trunk."

"supply for future use" (early 15c.), "sum of money" (mid-15c.), Middle English developments of stock (n.1), but the ultimate sense connection is uncertain. Perhaps the notion is of the "trunk" from which gains are an outgrowth, or from stock (n.1) in obsolete sense of "money-box" (c.1400). Meaning "subscribed capital of a corporation" is from 1610s.\n

\nIn stock "in the possession of a trader" is from 1610s. Meaning "broth made by boiling meat or vegetables" is from 1764. Theatrical use, in reference to a company regularly acting together at a given theater, is attested from 1761. Figurative phrase take stock in "regard as important" is from 1870. As the collective term for the movable property of a farm, it is recorded from 1510s; hence livestock.

Etymology 1

1. 1 Of a type normally available for purchase/in stock. 2 (context racing of a race car English) Having the same configuration as cars sold to the non-racing public, or having been modified from such a car. 3 Straightforward, ordinary, very basic. n. 1 A store or supply 2 # (context operations English) A store of goods ready for sale; inventory. 3 # A supply of anything ready for use. 4 # railroad rolling stock. 5 # In a card game, a stack of undealt cards made available to the players. 6 # farm or ranch animals; livestock. 7 # The population of a given type of animal (especially fish) available to be captured from the wild for economic use. 8 (context finance English) The capital raised by a company through the issue of shares. The total of shares held by an individual shareholder. 9 # The price or value of the stock for a company on the stock market 10 # (context figurative English) The measure of how highly a person or institution is valued. 11 # Any of several types of security that are similar to a stock, or marketed like one. 12 The raw material from which things are made; feedstock. 13 # The type of paper used in printing. 14 # Undeveloped film; film stock. 15 # plain soap before it is coloured and perfumed. 16 stock theater, summer stock theater. 17 The trunk and woody main stems of a tree. The base from which something grows or branches. 18 # (context horticulture English) The plant upon which the scion is graft#Ver

2. 19 # lineage, family, ancestry 20 ## (context linguistics English) A larger grouping of language families: a superfamily or macrofamily. 21 Any of the several species of cruciferous flowers in the genus ''Matthiola''. 22 A handle or stem to which the working part of an implement or weapon is attached 23 # The part of a rifle or shotgun that rests against the shooter's shoulder. 24 # The handle of a whip, fishing rod, et

3. 25 Part of a machine that supports items or holds them in place. 26 # The headstock of a lathe, drill, etc. 27 # The tailstock of a lathe 28 A bar, stick or rod 29 # A ski pole 30 # (context nautical English) A bar going through an anchor, perpendicular to the flukes. 31 # (context nautical English) The axle attached to the rudder, which transfers the movement of the helm to the rudder. 32 # (context geology English) A pipe (vertical cylinder of ore) 33 A bed for infants; a crib, cot, or cradle 34 (context folklore English) A piece of wood magically made to be just like a real baby and substituted for it by magical beings. 35 (context uncountable countable English) broth made from meat (originally bones) or vegetables, used as a basis for stew or soup. 36 A necktie or cravat, particularly a wide necktie popular in the eighteenth century, often seen today as a part of formal wear for horse riding competitions. 37 A piece of black cloth worn under a clerical collar. 38 (context obsolete English) A cover for the legs; a stocking 39 A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post. 40 (context by extension obsolete English) A person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense. 41 (context UK historical English) The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness. 42 (context shipbuilding in the plural English) The frame or timbers on which a ship rests during construction. 43 (context UK in the plural English) Red and grey bricks, used for the exterior of walls and the front of buildings. 44 (context biology English) In tectology, an aggregate or colony of individuals, such as as trees, chains of salpae, etc. 45 The beater of a fulling mill. vb. 1 To have on hand for sale. 2 To provide with material requisites; to store; to fill; to supply. 3 To allow (cows) to retain milk for twenty-four hours or more prior to sale. 4 To put in the stocks as punishment. 5 (context nautical English) To fit (an anchor) with a stock, or to fasten the stock firmly in place. 6 (context card games dated English) To arrange cards in a certain manner for cheating purposes; to stack the deck. Etymology 2

   n. A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado.

1. adj. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'" [syn: banal, commonplace, hackneyed, old-hat, shopworn, stock(a), threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, well-worn]

2. routine; "a stock answer"

3. regularly and widely used or sold; "a standard size"; "a stock item" [syn: standard]

1. n. the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest (equity); "he owns a controlling share of the company's stock"

2. liquid in which meat and vegetables are simmered; used as a basis for e.g. soups or sauces; "she made gravy with a base of beef stock" [syn: broth]

3. the merchandise that a shop has on hand; "they carried a vast inventory of hardware" [syn: inventory]

4. a supply of something available for future use; "he brought back a large store of Cuban cigars" [syn: store, fund]

5. not used technically; any animals kept for use or profit [syn: livestock, farm animal]

6. the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has been warriors" [syn: lineage, line, line of descent, descent, bloodline, blood line, blood, pedigree, ancestry, origin, parentage, stemma]

7. the handle of a handgun or the butt end of a rifle or shotgun or part of the support of a machine gun or artillery gun; "the rifle had been fitted with a special stock" [syn: gunstock]

8. the reputation and popularity a person has; "his stock was so high he could have been elected mayor"

9. a special variety of domesticated animals within a species; "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep" [syn: breed, strain]

10. lumber used in the construction of something; "they will cut round stock to 1-inch diameter"

11. a certificate documenting the shareholder's ownership in the corporation; "the value of his stocks doubled during the past year" [syn: stock certificate]

12. any of various ornamental flowering plants of the genus Malcolmia [syn: Malcolm stock]

13. a plant or stem onto which a graft is made; especially a plant grown specifically to provide the root part of grafted plants

14. any of several Old World plants cultivated for their brightly colored flowers [syn: gillyflower]

15. the handle end of some implements or tools; "he grabbed the cue by the stock"

16. persistent thickened stem of a herbaceous perennial plant [syn: caudex]

17. an ornamental white cravat [syn: neckcloth]

1. v. have on hand; "Do you carry kerosene heaters?" [syn: carry, stockpile]

2. equip with a stock; "stock a rifle"

3. supply with fish; "stock a lake"

4. supply with livestock; "stock a farm"

5. stock up on to keep for future use or sale; "let's stock coffee as long as prices are low" [syn: buy in]

6. provide or furnish with a stock of something; "stock the larder with meat"

7. put forth and grow sprouts or shoots; "the plant sprouted early this year" [syn: sprout]

Stock is a representation of capital paid or invested into a business entity by stockholders.

Stock may also refer to:

Stock is a flavoured liquid preparation. It forms the basis of many dishes, particularly soups and sauces. Making stocks involves simmering animal bones or meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, adding mirepoix or other aromatics for more flavour.

A stock, also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a tiller. The stock provides a means for the shooter to firmly support the device and easily aim it. The stock also transmits recoil into the shooter's body.

Stock is Akina Nakamori's 12th original studio album, released on March 3, 1988. Unlike her previous albums, it has a lot of rock influence, much like Akina Nakamori's idol, Momoe Yamaguchi's latter albums. It debuted at the #2 spot on Oricon charts, selling 395,000 copies.

In geology, a stock is a discordant igneous intrusion having a surface exposure of less than , differing from batholiths only in being smaller. The term stock usually refers to individual, relatively small plutons (<20 km diameter), usually in relative isolation. Most stocks are probably the cupolas of hidden batholiths. Circular or elliptical stocks may have been vents feeding former volcanoes.

The stock (also capital stock) of a corporation constitutes the equity stock of its owners. It represents the residual assets of the company that would be due to stockholders after discharge of all senior claims such as secured and unsecured debt. Stockholders' equity cannot be withdrawn from the company in a way that is intended to be detrimental to the company's creditors.

Stock is a French publisher, a subsidiary of Hachette Livre, which itself is part of the Lagardère Group.

It was founded in the 18th century by André Cailleau, who was succeeded in 1753 by Nicolas-Bonaventure Duchesne, who published Voltaire and Rousseau. At the beginning of the 19th century, the publisher was called "Au Temple du goût". In the middle of the century it changed hands and was eventually bought up by Pierre-Victor Stock, who ran it from 1877 to 1921 and gave it its current name.

During the Dreyfus affair, Stock published many essays on the subject, including Dreyfus's own Lettres d'un innocent. In his memoir Mémorandum d'un éditeur, Pierre-Victor Stock estimated that Stock had published around 150 works connected with the Dreyfus affair.

In the early 20th century, Stock ran into legal and financial difficulties. It was taken over in 1921 by Maurice Delamain and Jacques Chardonne, who renamed it "Stock, Delamain et Boutelleau". In 1961, Delamain and Chardonne sold Stock to Hachette.

Since the mid-20th century, Stock has specialised in foreign literature and non-fiction.

Stock or Stöck is a surname of German origin. It may derive from the trunk of a tree, or from the location Stock. The surname is most prevalent in Germany, and is highest density in Liechtenstein.1