n. [ Bed + stead a frame. ] A framework for supporting a bed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A steak of beef; a slice of beef broiled or suitable for broiling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bestead or Bested, also (Obs.) Bestad. In sense 3 imp. also Besteaded. ] [ Pref. be- + stead a place. ] 1. To put in a certain situation or condition; to circumstance; to place. [ Only in p. p. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: . . . and curse their king and their God. Is. viii. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

Many far worse bestead than ourselves. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put in peril; to beset. [ Only in p. p. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To serve; to assist; to profit; to avail. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cornish cothas dropped + stean tin. ] To search after lodes. See Costeaning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The process by which miners seek to discover metallic lodes. It consist in sinking small pits through the superficial deposits to the solid rock, and then driving from one pit to another across the direction of the vein, in such manner as to cross all the veins between the two pits. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Entrance or place of a door. [ Obs. or Local ] Bp. Warburton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to ectostosis; as, ectosteal ossification. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physiol.) Relating to endostosis; as, endosteal ossification. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A farm with the building upon it; a homestead on a farm. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

With its pleasant groves and farmsteads. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A farmstead. [ Scot. ] Black. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fibra a fiber + gr. cho`ndros cartilage + 'oste`on bone. ] (Anat.) Partly fibrous, partly cartilaginous, and partly osseous. St. George Mivart. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Girdle + stead place. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That part of the body where the girdle is worn. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Sheathed, beneath his girdlestead. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The lap. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There fell a flower into her girdlestead. Swinburne. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. fr. Gr. gymno`s naked + blasta`nein to sprout. ] (Zool.) The Athecata; -- so called because the medusoid buds are not inclosed in a capsule. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Pertaining to the Holostei. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. hāmstede. ] 1. The home place; a home and the inclosure or ground immediately connected with it. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The home or seat of a family; place of origin. [ 1913 Webster ]

We can trace them back to a homestead on the Rivers Volga and Ural. W. Tooke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) The home and appurtenant land and buildings owned by the head of a family, and occupied by him and his family. [ 1913 Webster ]

Homestead law. (a) A law conferring special privileges or exemptions upon owners of homesteads; esp., a law exempting a homestead from attachment or sale under execution for general debts. Such laws, with limitations as to the extent or value of the property, exist in most of the States. Called also homestead exemption law. (b) Also, a designation of an Act of Congress authorizing and regulating the sale of public lands, in parcels of 160 acres each, to actual settlers. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who has entered upon a portion of the public land with the purpose of acquiring ownership of it under provisions of the homestead law, so called; one who has acquired a homestead in this manner. [ Local, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. in- + stead place. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. In the place or room; -- usually followed by of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let thistles grow of wheat. Job xxxi. 40. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab. 2 Sam. xvii. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Equivalent; equal to; -- usually with of. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This very consideration to a wise man is instead of a thousand arguments, to satisfy him, that in those times no such thing was believed. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. Connecticut; -- a nickname alluding to the moral character of its inhabitants, implied by the rigid laws (see Blue laws) of the early period. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A person who steals or kidnaps a human being or beings. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or business of stealing or kidnaping human beings, especially with a view to e&unr_;slave them. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Market + stead a place. ] A market place. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Mere boundary + stead place. ] The land within the boundaries of a farm; a farmstead or farm. [ Archaic. ] Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mistaught p. pr. & vb. n. Misteaching. ] [ AS. mist&aemacr_;can. ] To teach wrongly; to instruct erroneously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The position of the sun at noon. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Possibly a corruption of homestead. ] A single farmhouse; a steading. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] Grose. Jamieson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'oste`on a bone. ] Osseous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Oto- + Gr. 'oste`on a bone. ] (Anat.) An auditory ossicle. R. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Physiol.) Of or pertaining to parostosis; as, parosteal ossification. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Situated around bone; of or pertaining to the periosteum. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Petro + stearine. ] A solid unctuous material, of which candles are made. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., after these or those (things), afterward. ] (Law) The return of the judge before whom a cause was tried, after a verdict, of what was done in the cause, which is indorsed on the nisi prius record. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Procrustes, or the mode of torture practiced by him; producing conformity by violent means; as, the Procrustean treatment; a Procrustean limit. See Procrustes. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Procrusteanized p. pr. & vb. n. Procrusteanizing ] To stretch or contract according to some rule or standard. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Road, 4 + stead a place. ] An anchorage off shore. Same as Road, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

Moored in the neighboring roadstead. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. stede place, AS. stede; akin to LG. & D. stede, OS. stad, stedi, OHG. stat, G. statt, stätte, Icel. staðr, Dan. sted, Sw. stad, Goth. staþs, and E. stand. √163. See Stand, and cf. Staith, Stithy. ] 1. Place, or spot, in general. [ Obs., except in composition. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fly, therefore, fly this fearful stead anon. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Place or room which another had, has, or might have. “Stewards of your steads.” Piers Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

In stead of bounds, he a pillar set. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The genial bed,
Sallow the feet, the borders, and the stead. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A farmhouse and offices. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word is now commonly used as the last part of a compound; as, farmstead, homestead, roadstead, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

In stead of, in place of. See Instead. --
To stand in stead, or
To do stead, to be of use or great advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

The smallest act . . . shall stand us in great stead. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here thy sword can do thee little stead. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To help; to support; to benefit; to assist. [ 1913 Webster ]

Perhaps my succour or advisement meet,
Mote stead you much your purpose to subdue. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

It nothing steads us
To chide him from our eaves. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fill the place of. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Stead + fast, that is, fast in place. ] [ Written also stedfast. ] 1. Firmly fixed or established; fast fixed; firm. “This steadfast globe of earth.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not fickle or wavering; constant; firm; resolute; unswerving; steady. “Steadfast eye.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abide steadfast unto him [ thy neighbor ] in the time of his trouble. Ecclus. xxii. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whom resist steadfast in the faith. 1 Pet. v. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steadfast manner; firmly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steadfastly believe that whatever God has revealed is infallibly true. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being steadfast; firmness; fixedness; constancy. “The steadfastness of your faith.” Col. ii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

To prove her wifehood and her steadfastness. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steady manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being steady. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steadiness is a point of prudence as well as of courage. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Constancy; resolution; unchangeableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The barns, stables, cattle-yards, etc., of a farm; -- called also onstead, farmstead, farm offices, or farmery. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Steadier superl. Steadiest. ] [ Cf. AS. stedig sterile, barren, staeððig, steady (in gestaeððig), D. stedig, stadig, steeg, G. stätig, stetig. See Stead, n. ] 1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm. “The softest, steadiest plume.” Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute; as, a man steady in his principles, in his purpose, or in the pursuit of an object. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Regular; constant; undeviating; uniform; as, the steady course of the sun; a steady breeze of wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Fixed; regular; uniform; undeviating; invariable; unremitted; stable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steady rest (Mach), a rest in a turning lathe, to keep a long piece of work from trembling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Steadied p. pr. & vb. n. Steadying. ] To make steady; to hold or keep from shaking, reeling, or falling; to make or keep firm; to support; to make constant, regular, or resolute. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become steady; to regain a steady position or state; to move steadily. [ 1913 Webster ]

Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. steike, Icel. steik, akin to Icel. steikja to roast, stikna to be roasted or scorched, and E. stick, the steak being broiled on a spit. See Stick, v. t. ] A slice of beef, broiled, or cut for broiling; -- also extended to the meat of other large animals; as, venison steak; bear steak; pork steak; turtle steak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Stale a handle. ] A handle; a stale, or stele. [ Archaic or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And in his hand a huge poleax did bear.
Whose steale was iron-studded but not long. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Stole p. p. Stolen p. pr. & vb. n. Stealing. ] [ OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stjäla, Dan. stiaele, Goth. stilan. ] 1. To take, and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another. [ 1913 Webster ]

Maugre thy heed, thou must for indigence
Or steal, or beg, or borrow, thy dispense. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The man who stole a goose and gave away the giblets in alms. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate. [ 1913 Webster ]

They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will steal himself into a man's favor. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To gain by insinuating arts or covert means. [ 1913 Webster ]

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 2 Sam. xv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away. [ 1913 Webster ]

Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look. [ 1913 Webster ]

Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, . . . and do not think to steal it. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

To steal a march, to march in a covert way; to gain an advantage unobserved; -- formerly followed by of, but now by on or upon, and sometimes by over; as, to steal a march upon one's political rivals. [ 1913 Webster ]

She yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy. Smollett. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fifty thousand men can not easily steal a march over the sea. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To filch; pilfer; purloin; thieve. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not steal. Ex. xx. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fixed of mind to avoid further entreaty, and to fly all company, one night she stole away. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A soft and solemn breathing sound
Rose like a steam of rich, distilled perfumes,
And stole upon the air. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who steals; a thief. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Shipbuilding) The endmost plank of a strake which stops short of the stem or stern. [ 1913 Webster ]