still - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall.

(noun: Falkland Islander): Military slang, short for still a Benny, since the military had been instructed not to refer to the islanders by the derogatory term Benny (which see).

still (comparative stiller or more still, superlative stillest or most still)

  1. Not moving; calm.
    Synonyms: fixed, stationary, unmoving; see also Thesaurus:stationary, Thesaurus:calm
    Sit there and stay still!
    Still waters run deep.
  2. Not effervescing; not sparkling.
    Synonyms: flat, uneffervescent; see also Thesaurus:noneffervescent
    still water; still wines
  3. Uttering no sound; silent.
    Synonyms: noiseless, soundless; see also Thesaurus:silent
    • c. 1711, Joseph Addison, How are thy Servants blest, O Lord!:
      The sea that roared at thy command, / At thy command was still.
  4. (not comparable) Having the same stated quality continuously from a past time
    • 2007 January 3, Gerry Geronimo, “Unwanted weed starts to sprout from a wayward ponencia”, in Manila Standard‎[1], archived from the original on 19 July 2011:
      To follow the still President’s marching orders, all that Secretary Ronnie Puno has to do is to follow the road map laid out by Justice Azcuna in his “separate” opinion.
  5. Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low.
    Synonyms: hushed, tranquil; see also Thesaurus:quiet
  6. (obsolete) Constant; continual.
    Synonyms: incessant, ongoing, unremitting; see also Thesaurus:continuous
  7. (botany, dated) Dormant.
    a still spore

not moving, calm

(of drinking water) not effervescent

uttering no sound, silent

still (not comparable)

  1. Without motion.
    They stood still until the guard was out of sight.
  2. (aspect) Up to a time, as in the preceding time.
    Is it still raining? It was still raining five minutes ago.
    We’ve seen most of the sights, but we are still visiting the museum.
    I’m still not wise enough to answer that.
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
      It hath been anciently reported, and is still received.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
      Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
    • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist‎[2], volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
      An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
  3. (degree) To an even greater degree. Used to modify comparative adjectives or adverbs.
    Tom is tall; Dick is taller; Harry is still taller / Harry is taller still.
  4. (conjunctive) Nevertheless.
    I’m not hungry, but I’ll still manage to find room for dessert.
    Yeah, but still...
    She'd been here many times before, it was true. Still, she held out some hope.
    • 1817, Thomas Moore, Lalla Rookh […] ‎[3], London: Longman […] :
      As sunshine, broken in the rill, / Though turned astray, is sunshine still.
  5. (archaic, poetic) Always; invariably; constantly; continuously.
    • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], lines 201–202:
      Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion.
    • 1661, Robert Boyle, “[Two Essays, Concerning the Unsuccessfulness of Experiments, Containing Divers Admonitions and Observations (Chiefly Chymical) Touching that Subject.] The Second Essay, of Un-succeeding Experiments.”, in Certain Physiological Essays and Other Tracts; […], 2nd edition, London: […] Henry Herringman […], published 1669, →OCLC, page 78:
      [W]hereas many Chymiſts vvould be vaſtly rich, if they could ſtill do in great Quantities vvhat they have ſometimes done in little ones, many have undone themſelves by obſtinately attempting to make even real Experiments more gainful.
    • 1712 January 2 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele _et al._], “SATURDAY, December 22, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 255; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
      The desire of fame betrays an ambitious man into indecencies that lessen his reputation; he is still afraid lest any of his actions should be thrown away in private.
  6. (extensive) Even, yet.
    Some dogs howl; more yelp; still more bark.
    • 2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.
  7. Alternative spelling of styll.
    • 2022, Moses McKenzie, An Olive Grove in Ends‎[5]:
      'Yeah yeah, I'm good still, Stace,' I said.
    • 2022 June 2, Gabrielle Wood, 16:17 from the start, in Teddy Nygh, director, PRU (1), episode 2 (TV), spoken by Halil (Jay Ersavas):
      HALIL: I can't lie, I didn't expect it from you, man, still!

without motion

up to a time, as in the preceding time

to an even greater degree

nevertheless

always, invariably, constantly

even, yet

Translations to be checked

still (plural stills)

  1. A period of calm or silence.
    the still of the night
    • 1901, Good Words, volume 42, page 7:
      Between the roar of the thunder and the blatter of the rain there were intervals of an astounding still, of an ominous suspense […]
  2. (photography) A photograph, as opposed to movie footage.
    1. (cinematography) A single frame from a film.
      • 1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 87:
        One of his best stories was "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (1914), of which there survives only an amusing still, showing poor Mabel Normand chained to the rails by two toughs, the moustached villain threatening her with a sledge-hammer, and an awful sense of that inexorably approaching express!
  3. (slang) A resident of the Falkland Islands.

period of calm or silence

photography: a non-moving photograph

resident of Falkland Islands

Via Middle English stillen, clip of distillen; Old French distiller; Latin distillare, from dis- + stillare, from Latin stilla.

still (plural stills)

  1. A device for distilling liquids.
  2. (catering) A large water boiler used to make tea and coffee.
  3. (catering) The area in a restaurant used to make tea and coffee, separate from the main kitchen.
  4. A building where liquors are distilled; a distillery.

a device for distilling liquids

building where liquor is distilled — see distillery

Inherited from Old English stillan.

still (third-person singular simple present stills, present participle stilling, simple past and past participle stilled)

  1. To calm down, to quiet.
    to still the raging sea
    • 1695, John Woodward, An essay toward a natural history of the earth and terrestrial bodies, especially minerals, page 139:
      They likewise believed that he, having a full Sway and Command over the Water, had Power to still and compose it, as well as to move and disturb it […]
    • c. 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part 1, act 2, scene 3:
      Is this the scourge of France? / Is this the Talbot, so much fear'd abroad / That with his name the mothers still their babes?
    • 1980, Robert Dougall, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 379:
      Near the pond was the ducking-stool where many a village scold had her tongue temporarily stilled.

Aphetic form of distil, or from Latin stillare.

still (third-person singular simple present stills, present participle stilling, simple past and past participle stilled)

  1. (obsolete) To trickle, drip.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, book III, canto ii, paragraph xxix:
      And if that any drop of slombring rest / Did chaunce to still into her wearie spright,
  2. To cause to fall by drops.
  3. To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill.
    • 1557 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), Thomas Tusser, A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC; republished London: […] Robert Triphook, […], and William Sancho, […], 1810, →OCLC:
      The knowledge of stilling is one pretty feat,
      The waters be wholesome, the charges not great

From Middle High German stille, from Old High German stilli, from Proto-West Germanic *stillī.

still (strong nominative masculine singular stiller, comparative stiller, superlative am stillsten)

  1. quiet, silent
    stiller Alarm. ― silent alarm.
  2. without carbonation, flat
    Stilles Mineralwasser.

Comparative forms of still

Superlative forms of still

still

  1. quietly, silently

still

  1. quiet, silent

still

  1. imperative of stille
    Still deg i køen.
    Go stand in the queue.

still

  1. imperative of stilla

still (masculine and feminine **still, neuter stilt, definite singular and plural stille, comparative stillare, indefinite superlative stillast, definite superlative stillaste)

  1. alternative form of stille

still m (plural stills)

  1. (photography) still

Alternative form of stilla.

still (not comparable)

  1. still
    barnet kan inte sitta still
    the child can't sit still