n. [ Cf. Ajutage. ] Adjustment. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (theater) the area on the stage out of sight of the audience.
Syn. -- wing, wings, offstage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. concealed from the public; in private.
Syn. -- behind the scenes. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Law) A toll paid for the privilege of taking up ballast in a port or harbor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. coustage. ] Expense; cost. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Theater) the front half of a stage. Opposite of upstage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. (Theater) of or pertaining to the front half of a stage. Opposite of upstage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. (Theater) at the front half of the stage; as, the dialog is clearer when conducted downstage. Opposite of upstage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. F. forestage. ] (O. Eng. Law) (a) A duty or tribute payable to the king's foresters. (b) A service paid by foresters to the king. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. hostage, OF. hostage, ostage, F. ôtage, LL. hostaticus, ostaticum, for hospitaticum, fr. L. hospes guest, host. The first meaning is, the state of a guest, hospitality; hence, the state of a hostage (treated as a guest); and both these meanings occur in Old French. See Host a landlord. ] A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, on the performance of which the person is to be released. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your hostages I have, so have you mine;
And we shall talk before we fight. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He that hath a wife and children hath given hostages to fortune. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. [ E. lestage ballasting, fr. lest ballast, or LL. lastagium, lestagium. See Last a load. ] 1. A duty exacted, in some fairs or markets, for the right to carry things where one will. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A tax on wares sold by the last. [ Obs. ] Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The lading of a ship; also, ballast. Spelman. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Room for stowing goods, as in a ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to interpretation of mysteries or to mystagogue; of the nature of mystagogy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. mystagogus, Gr. &unr_;; &unr_; one initiated in mysteries + &unr_; leading, n., a leader, fr. &unr_; to lead: cf. F. mystagogue. See 1st Mystery. ] 1. One who interprets mysteries, especially of a religious kind. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who keeps and shows church relics. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The doctrines, principles, or practice of a mystagogue; interpretation of mysteries. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; drowsiness, fr. &unr_; to nod in sleep, to slumber. ] (Med.) A rapid involuntary oscillation of the eyeballs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The price established by law to be paid for the conveyance of a letter or other mailable matter by a public post. [ 1913 Webster ]

Postage stamp, a government stamp required to be put upon articles sent by mail in payment of the postage, esp. an adhesive stamp issued and sold for that purpose. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ G. ] 1. [ Note: from the 1913 definition ] The Diet, or House of Representatives, of the German empire (and of the Weimar Republic), which was composed of members elected for a term of three years by the direct vote of the people. This term is no longer (in 1997) applied to the German parliament. See also Bundesrath. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. [ Note: from the 1913 definition ] The national representative body of Hungary, consisting of a House of Magnates (including archdukes, peers, high officials of the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant Churches, and certain other dignitaries) and a House of Representatives (in 1912 consisting of 453 members). See Legislative, Diet. [ archaic ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

a. [ L. restagnans, p. pr. ] Stagnant; motionless. [ Obs. ] Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. restagnare to overflow. ] To stagnate; to cease to flow. [ Obs. ] Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. restagnatio an inundation. ] Stagnation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Icel. steggr the male of several animals; or a doubtful AS. stagga. Cf. Steg. ] 1. (Zool.) (a) The adult male of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), a large European species closely related to the American elk, or wapiti. (b) The male of certain other species of large deer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A colt, or filly; also, a romping girl. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A castrated bull; -- called also bull stag, and bull seg. See the Note under Ox. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Stock Exchange) (a) An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange. [ Cant ] (b) One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock. [ Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Zool.) The European wren. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Stag beetle (Zool.), any one of numerous species of lamellicorn beetles belonging to Lucanus and allied genera, especially Lucanus cervus of Europe and Lucanus dama of the United States. The mandibles are large and branched, or forked, whence the name. The larva feeds on the rotten wood of dead trees. Called also horned bug, and horse beetle. --
Stag dance, a dance by men only. [ Slang, U.S. ] --
Stag hog (Zool.), the babiroussa. --
Stag-horn coral (Zool.), any one of several species of large branching corals of the genus Madrepora, which somewhat resemble the antlers of the stag, especially Madrepora cervicornis, and Madrepora palmata, of Florida and the West Indies. --
Stag-horn fern (Bot.), an Australian and West African fern (Platycerium alcicorne) having the large fronds branched like a stag's horns; also, any species of the same genus. --
Stag-horn sumac (Bot.), a common American shrub (Rhus typhina) having densely velvety branchlets. See Sumac. --
Stag party, a party consisting of men only. [ Slang, U. S. ] --
Stag tick (Zool.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the family Hippoboscidae, which lives upon the stag and is usually wingless. The same species lives also upon the European grouse, but in that case has wings. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Com.) To act as a “stag, ” or irregular dealer in stocks. [ Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To watch; to dog, or keep track of. [ Prov. Eng. or Slang ] H. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To exhibit upon a stage, or as upon a stage; to display publicly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. estage, F. étage, (assumed) LL. staticum, from L. stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Static. ] 1. A floor or story of a house. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An elevated platform on which an orator may speak, a play be performed, an exhibition be presented, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A floor elevated for the convenience of mechanical work, or the like; a scaffold; a staging. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A platform, often floating, serving as a kind of wharf. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The floor for scenic performances; hence, the theater; the playhouse; hence, also, the profession of representing dramatic compositions; the drama, as acted or exhibited. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on the stage. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lo! where the stage, the poor, degraded stage,
Holds its warped mirror to a gaping age. C. Sprague. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A place where anything is publicly exhibited; the scene of any noted action or career; the spot where any remarkable affair occurs; as, politicians must live their lives on the public stage. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Music and ethereal mirth
Wherewith the stage of air and earth did ring. Miton. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. The platform of a microscope, upon which an object is placed to be viewed. See Illust. of Microscope. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A place of rest on a regularly traveled road; a stage house; a station; a place appointed for a relay of horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. A degree of advancement in a journey; one of several portions into which a road or course is marked off; the distance between two places of rest on a road; as, a stage of ten miles. [ 1913 Webster ]

A stage . . . signifies a certain distance on a road. Jeffrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

He traveled by gig, with his wife, his favorite horse performing the journey by easy stages. Smiles. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. A degree of advancement in any pursuit, or of progress toward an end or result. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such a polity is suited only to a particular stage in the progress of society. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. A large vehicle running from station to station for the accommodation of the public; a stagecoach; an omnibus. “A parcel sent you by the stage.” Cowper. [ Obsolescent ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I went in the sixpenny stage. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Biol.) One of several marked phases or periods in the development and growth of many animals and plants; as, the larval stage; pupa stage; zoea stage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stage box, a box close to the stage in a theater. --
Stage carriage, a stagecoach. --
Stage door, the actors' and workmen's entrance to a theater. --
Stage lights, the lights by which the stage in a theater is illuminated. --
Stage micrometer, a graduated device applied to the stage of a microscope for measuring the size of an object. --
Stage wagon, a wagon which runs between two places for conveying passengers or goods. --
Stage whisper, a loud whisper, as by an actor in a theater, supposed, for dramatic effect, to be unheard by one or more of his fellow actors, yet audible to the audience; an aside. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A coach that runs regularly from one stage, station, or place to another, for the conveyance of passengers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Stagecoachmen One who drives a stagecoach. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Theat.) One who prepares a play for production. He arranges the details of the stage settings, the business to be used, all stage effects, and instructs the actors, excepting usually the star, in the general interpretation of their parts. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Nervousness felt before an audience. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A house where a stage regularly stops for passengers or a relay of horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to a stage; becoming the theater; theatrical. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Theat.) One in control of the stage during the production of a play. He directs the stage hands, property man, etc., has charge of all details behind the curtain, except the acting, and has a general oversight of the actors. Sometimes he is also the stage director. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A dramatic or theatrical entertainment. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An actor on the stage; one whose occupation is to represent characters on the stage; as, Garrick was a celebrated stageplayer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A player. [ R. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who has long acted on the stage of life; a practitioner; a person of experience, or of skill derived from long experience. “You will find most of the old stagers still stationary there.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A horse used in drawing a stage. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Exhibition on the stage. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Fascinated by the stage; seized by a passionate desire to become an actor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Far.) A kind of palsy affecting the jaw of a horse. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Stag. ] (Zool.) The male red deer when four years old. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Staggered p. pr. & vb. n. Staggering. ] [ OE. stakeren, Icel. stakra to push, to stagger, fr. staka to punt, push, stagger; cf. OD. staggeren to stagger. Cf. Stake, n. ] 1. To move to one side and the other, as if about to fall, in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness; to sway; to reel or totter. [ 1913 Webster ]

Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail. “The enemy staggers.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To begin to doubt and waver in purpose; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate. [ 1913 Webster ]

He [ Abraham ] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. Rom. iv. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To cause to reel or totter. [ 1913 Webster ]

That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire
That staggers thus my person. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whosoever will read the story of this war will find himself much staggered. Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing, as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion; vertigo; -- often in the plural; as, the stagger of a drunken man. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. (Far.) A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling; as, parasitic staggers; apopletic or sleepy staggers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. Bewilderment; perplexity. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stomach staggers (Far.), distention of the stomach with food or gas, resulting in indigestion, frequently in death. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) An American shrub (Andromeda Mariana) having clusters of nodding white flowers. It grows in low, sandy places, and is said to poison lambs and calves. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a staggering manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A kind of ragwort (Senecio Jacobaea). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having the mandibles large and palmate, or branched somewhat like the antlers of a stag; -- said of certain beetles. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ etc. } See under Stag. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A large and powerful hound formerly used in hunting the stag, the wolf, and other large animals. The breed is nearly extinct. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A structure of posts and boards for supporting workmen, etc., as in building. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The business of running stagecoaches; also, the act of journeying in stagecoaches. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A native of, or resident in, Stagira, in ancient Macedonia; especially, Aristotle. [ Written also Stagyrite. ] [ 1913 Webster ]