What is "stoop"

Stoop \Stoop\, n. [OE. stope, Icel. staup; akin to AS. ste['a]p, D. stoop, G. stauf, OHG. stouph.] A vessel of liquor; a flagon. [Written also stoup.]

Fetch me a stoop of liquor.
--Shak.

Stoop \Stoop\, n. [Cf. Icel. staup a knobby lump.] A post fixed in the earth. [Prov. Eng.]

Stoop \Stoop\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stooped; p. pr. & vb. n. Stooping.] [OE. stoupen; akin to AS. st?pian, OD. stuypen, Icel. st[=u]pa, Sw. stupa to fall, to tilt. Cf 5th Steep.]

1. To bend the upper part of the body downward and forward; to bend or lean forward; to incline forward in standing or walking; to assume habitually a bent position.

2. To yield; to submit; to bend, as by compulsion; to assume a position of humility or subjection.

   Mighty in her ships stood Carthage long, . . . Yet stooped to Rome, less wealthy, but more strong.
   --Dryden.

   These are arts, my prince, In which your Zama does not stoop to Rome.
   --Addison.

3. To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend. ``She stoops to conquer.''
   --Goldsmith.

   Where men of great wealth stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly.
   --Bacon.

4. To come down as a hawk does on its prey; to pounce; to souse; to swoop.

   The bird of Jove, stooped from his a["e]ry tour, Two birds of gayest plume before him drove.
   --Milton.

5. To sink when on the wing; to alight.

   And stoop with closing pinions from above.
   --Dryden.

   Cowering low With blandishment, each bird stooped on his wing.
   --Milton.

   Syn: To lean; yield; submit; condescend; descend; cower; shrink.

Stoop \Stoop\, v. t.

1. To bend forward and downward; to bow down; as, to stoop the body. ``Have stooped my neck.''
   --Shak.

2. To cause to incline downward; to slant; as, to stoop a cask of liquor.

3. To cause to submit; to prostrate. [Obs.]

   Many of those whose states so tempt thine ears Are stooped by death; and many left alive.
   --Chapman.

4. To degrade. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

Stoop \Stoop\, n. [D. stoep.] (Arch.) Originally, a covered porch with seats, at a house door; the Dutch stoep as introduced by the Dutch into New York. Afterward, an out-of-door flight of stairs of from seven to fourteen steps, with platform and parapets, leading to an entrance door some distance above the street; the French perron. Hence, any porch, platform, entrance stairway, or small veranda, at a house door. [U. S.]

Stoop \Stoop\, n.

1. The act of stooping, or bending the body forward; inclination forward; also, an habitual bend of the back and shoulders.

2. Descent, as from dignity or superiority; condescension; an act or position of humiliation.

   Can any loyal subject see With patience such a stoop from sovereignty?
   --Dryden.

3. The fall of a bird on its prey; a swoop.
   --L'Estrange.

"bend forward," Old English stupian "to bow, bend," from Proto-Germanic *stup- (cognates: Middle Dutch stupen "to bow, bend," Norwegian stupa "fall, drop"), from PIE *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)). Figurative sense of "condescend," especially expressing a lowering of the moral self, is from 1570s. Sense of "swoop" is first recorded 1570s in falconry. Related: Stooped; stooping. The noun meaning "an act of stooping" is from c.1300. Stoop-shouldered attested from 1773.\n

"raised open platform at the entrance of a house," 1755, American and Canadian, from Dutch stoep "flight of steps, doorstep, threshold," from Middle Dutch, from Proto-Germanic *stap- "step" (see step (v.)).\n\nThis, unlike most of the words received [in American English] from the Dutch, has extended, in consequence of the uniform style of building that prevails throughout the country, beyond the bounds of New York State, as far as the backwoods of Canada.

[Bartlett]

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context chiefly Northeastern US chiefly New York also Canada English) The staircase and landing or porch leading to the entrance of a residence. 2 The threshold of a doorway, a doorstep. Etymology 2

n. 1 A stooping (ie. bent, see the "Verb" section above) position of the body 2 An accelerated descent in flight, as that for an attack. vb. To bend the upper part of the body forward and downward. Etymology 3

alt. (context dialect English) A post or pillar, especially a gatepost or a support in a mine. n. (context dialect English) A post or pillar, especially a gatepost or a support in a mine. Etymology 4

alt. A vessel of liquor; a flagon. n. A vessel of liquor; a flagon.

1. n. an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward

2. basin for holy water [syn: stoup]

3. small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house [syn: stoep]

1. v. bend one's back forward from the waist on down; "he crouched down"; "She bowed before the Queen"; "The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse" [syn: crouch, bend, bow]

2. debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way; "I won't stoop to reading other people's mail" [syn: condescend, lower oneself]

3. descend swiftly, as if on prey; "The eagle stooped on the mice in the field"

4. sag, bend, bend over or down; "the rocks stooped down over the hiking path"

5. carry oneself, often habitually, with head, shoulders, and upper back bent forward; "The old man was stooping but he could walk around without a cane"

Stoop may refer to:

• Stoop (surname)
• Stoop (architecture), a small staircase leading to the entrance of a building
• a mild form of kyphosis
• the high-speed attack dive of a bird of prey (most usually a hawk, eagle, falcon or owl)
• Twickenham Stoop, also known simply as "The Stoop", a rugby stadium in London named after Adrian Stoop
• The Stoop (album), a music album by Little Jackie
• Stevenage Outer Orbital Path (STOOP)

In urban architecture, a stoop is a small staircase ending in a platform and leading to the entrance of an apartment building or other building.

Stoop is a Dutch metonymic occupational surname. A stoop was a name for a jug or (wine) jar and a nickname for an innkeeper or wine merchant. People with this surname include:

• Adriaan Stoop (1856–1935), Dutch oil explorer
• Adrian Stoop (1883–1957), English rugby union player and administrator
• Andre Stoop, Namibian rugby footballer
• Dé Stoop (1919–2007), Dutch sports manager
• Dirk Stoop (ca.1618–1686), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age
• Georgie Stoop (born 1988), English tennis player
• Julian de Stoop (born 1980), Australian journalist
• Pieter Stoop (born 1946), Dutch abstract painter
• Rista Stoop (born 1970), South African female cricketer