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Hand vs Stay - What's the difference?

hand | stay |

As nouns the difference between hand and stay

is that hand is tail while stay is (nautical) a strong rope supporting a mast, and leading from the head of one mast down to some other, or other part of the vessel or stay can be a prop; a support.

As a verb stay is

(nautical) to incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays or stay can be to prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady.

As an adjective stay is

steep; ascending.

As an adverb stay is

steeply.

hand

English

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Noun

(en noun)
  • The part of the fore limb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
  • :
  • *, chapter=7
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.}}
  • *'>citation
  • *:Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.
  • (lb) That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
  • #A limb of certain animals, as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey.
  • #An index or pointer on a dial; such as the hour and minute hands on the face of an analog clock, which are used to indicate the time of day.
  • (lb) In linear measurement:
  • # Four inches, a hand's breadth.
  • #*
  • #*:Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.
  • #(lb) Three inches.
  • A side; part, camp; direction, either right or left.
  • *(w) 38:15:
  • *:On this hand' and that ' hand , were hangings.
  • *
  • *From a speech delivered by (Bertrand Russell) on accepting the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature:
  • *:I maintain, however, on the one hand', that there are few occasions upon which large bodies of men, such as politics is concerned with, can rise above selfishness, while, on the other ' hand , there are a very great many circumstances in which populations will fall below selfishness, if selfishness is interpreted as enlightened self-interest.
  • Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.
  • *
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand , and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  • An agent; a servant, or manual laborer, especially in compounds; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty; a performer more or less skillful.
  • :
  • *
  • *
  • *{{quote-book, year=1905, author=
  • , title= , chapter=2 citation , passage=For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.}}
  • An instance of helping.
  • :
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.}}
  • Handwriting; style of penmanship.
  • :
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *'>citation
  • A person's signature.
  • :
  • Personal possession; ownership.
  • *
  • Management, domain, control.
  • :
  • *1611 , (King James Version of the Bible), 1:1
  • *:Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us
  • *
  • (lb) That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
  • # The set of cards held by a player.
  • #(lb) A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.
  • #
  • Applause.
  • :
  • *2013 , Tom Shone, Oscar nominations pull a surprise by showing some taste – but will it last?'' (in ''The Guardian , 11 January 2013)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2013/jan/11/oscar-nominations-surprise-taste]
  • *:Also a big hand for Silver Linings Playbook, an exuberant modern screwball comedy we had, in an unseemly fit of cynicism, deemed "too entertaining" for Academy voters.
  • (lb) The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
  • A whole rhizome of ginger.
  • The feel of a fabric; the impression or quality of the fabric as judged qualitatively by the sense of touch.
  • :
  • (lb) Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.
  • *
  • *(w) 6.36:
  • *:Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand .
  • (lb) Agency in transmission from one person to another.
  • :
  • (lb) Rate; price.
  • *
  • Synonyms

    * (part of the arm below the wrist) manus (obsolete), paw (of some animals)

    Usage notes

    Hand is used figuratively for a large variety of acts or things, in the doing, or making, or use of which the hand is in some way employed or concerned; also, as a symbol to denote various qualities or conditions, as, : (a) Activity; operation; work; — in distinction from the head, which implies thought, and the heart, which implies affection. :: His hand will be against every man. — Genesis 16:12 : (b) Power; might; supremacy; — often in the Scriptures. :: With a mighty hand . . . will I rule over you. — Ezekiel 20:33 . : (c) Fraternal feeling; as, to give, or take, the hand'; to give the right ' hand : (d) Contract; — commonly of marriage; as, to ask the hand ; to pledge the hand.

    Meronyms

    * (part of the fore limb below the forearm) index finger, middle finger, palm, pinky, ring finger, thumb

    Derived terms

    * all hands * at hand * backhand, backhanded * back of one's hand * bite the hand that feeds one * by hand * change hands * China Hand * close at hand * * dead man's hand * deckhand * dishpan hands * Dutch hand * empty-handed * farmhand * fill one's hand * first hand * force somebody's hand * glad hand * handbag * hand ball or handball * hand basket * handbreadth * handful * hand gear * hand grenade * handgun * hand in glove * hand in hand * handicraft * handiwork * handjob * handle * handly * handmade * handmill * hand over fist * hand over hand * hand press * handrail * handsaw * hands off * hands down * hands on * hands up * hand to hand * hand to mouth, hand-to-mouth * handwork * handy * hat in hand * have a hand in * have blood on one's hands * have one's hands full * heavy-handed * hired hand * hour hand * idle hands are the devil's workshop * in good hands * in hand * laying on of hands * left-handed * lend a hand * live from hand to mouth * minute hand * off-hand * old hand * on hand * on the one hand * on the other hand * out of hand * out of someone's hands * overhand * play into someone's hands * play the hand one is dealt * put one's hands together * putty in someone's hands * ranchhand * red-handed * right-handed * second hand, second-hand * shake hands * show of hands * stablehand * stagehand * take in hand * the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world * tie someone's hands * tip one's hand * try one's hand at * underhand * underhanded * wash one's hands of

    See also

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To give, pass, or transmit with the hand, literally or figuratively.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Can China clean up fast enough? , passage=It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.}}
  • To lead, guide, or assist with the hand; to conduct.
  • (obsolete) To manage.
  • *
  • (obsolete) To seize; to lay hands on.
  • (Shakespeare)
  • (rare) To pledge by the hand; to handfast.
  • (transitive, nautical, said of a sail) To furl.
  • (Totten)
  • (obsolete) To cooperate.
  • Derived terms

    * hand down * hand in * hand off * hand out * hand over

    References

    *

    Statistics

    *

    stay

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) A strong rope supporting a mast, and leading from the head of one mast down to some other, or other part of the vessel.
  • A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element.
  • The engineer insisted on using stays for the scaffolding.
  • (chain-cable) The transverse piece in a link.
  • Synonyms
    *
    Derived terms
    * backstay * bobstay * forestay * jackstay * mainstay * staylace * stayless * staymaker * stayman * staysail * stayship * triatic stay

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (nautical) To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays.
  • stay a mast
  • (nautical) To tack; put on the other tack.
  • to stay ship
  • (nautical) To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) steyen, staien, from (etyl) estayer, . More at (l), (l). Sense of "remain, continue" may be due to later influence from (etyl) ester, , from the same Proto-Indo-European root above; however, derivation from this root is untenable based on linguistic and historical groundsWhitney, Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia , stay.. An alternative etymology derives (etyl) estaye, estaie, from Old (etyl) . More at (l), (l).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady.
  • To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • Your ships are stay'd at Venice.
  • * (John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
  • This business staid me in London almost a week.
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me new.
  • * (Bible), (w) xvii. 12
  • Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Sallows and reedsfor vineyards useful found / To stay thy vines.
  • To restrain; withhold; check; stop.
  • * (Richard Hooker) (1554-1600)
  • all that may stay their minds from thinking that true which they heartily wish were false
  • To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back.
  • To hold the attention of.
  • To bear up under; to endure; to hold out against; to resist.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • She will not stay the siege of loving terms, / Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes.
  • To wait for; await.
  • To rest; depend; rely.
  • * (w) 30:12, (w)
  • Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • I stay here on my bond.
  • To stop; come to a stand or standstill.
  • To come to an end; cease.
  • That day the storm stayed .
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • Here my commission stays .
  • To dwell; linger; tarry; wait.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • I must stay a little on one action.
  • To make a stand; stand.
  • To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end.
  • That horse stays well.
  • To remain in a particular place, especially for an indefinite time; sojourn; abide.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • She would command the hasty sun to stay .
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Stay , I command you; stay and hear me first.
  • * (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (1807-1882)
  • I stay a little longer, as one stays / To cover up the embers that still burn.
  • * , chapter=5
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.}}
  • To wait; rest in patience or expectation.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • I'll tell thee all my whole device / When I am in my coach, which stays for us.
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • The father cannot stay any longer for the fortune.
  • To wait as an attendant; give ceremonious or submissive attendance.
  • To continue to have a particular quality.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • The flames augment, and stay / At their full height, then languish to decay.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
  • , volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",
  • To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
  • * Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)
  • He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not staid his stomach for a minute.
  • (obsolete) To remain for the purpose of; to wait for.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • I stay dinner there.
  • To cause to cease; to put an end to.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • Stay your strife.
  • * (Ralph Waldo Emerson) (1803-1882)
  • For flattering planets seemed to say / This child should ills of ages stay .
  • To fasten or secure with stays.
  • to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler
    Derived terms
    * bestay * forestay * forstay * gainstay * here to stay * offstay * onstay * outstay * overstay * stay-at-home * stay behind * stay-button * stayer * stay hungry * stay on * stay over * stay put * stay the course * stay up * * understay * unstay * unstayed * upstay
    See also
    * abide * belive * continue * dwell * live * remain * reside

    References

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) *. See above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A prop; a support.
  • * Milton
  • My only strength and stay .
  • * Addison
  • Trees serve as so many stays for their vines.
  • * Coleridge
  • Lord Liverpool is the single stay of this ministry.
  • (archaic) A fastening for a garment; a hook; a clasp; anything to hang another thing on.
  • That which holds or restrains; obstacle; check; hindrance; restraint.
  • A stop; a halt; a break or cessation of action, motion, or progress.
  • * Milton
  • Made of sphere metal, never to decay / Until his revolution was at stay .
  • * Hayward
  • Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a stay .
  • (archaic) A standstill; a state of rest; entire cessation of motion or progress.
  • stand at a stay
  • A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment.
  • The governor granted a stay of execution.
  • A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence.
  • Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time; sojourn.
  • I hope you enjoyed your stay in Hawaii.
  • (nautical) A station or fixed anchorage for vessels.
  • Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
  • * Herbert
  • Not grudging that thy lust hath bounds and stays .
  • * Francis Bacon
  • The wisdom, stay , and moderation of the king.
  • * Philips
  • With prudent stay he long deferred / The rough contention.
  • A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing.
  • Where are the stays for my collar?
  • (obsolete) Hindrance; let; check.
  • * Robynson (More's Utopia)
  • They were able to read good authors without any stay , if the book were not false.
    Derived terms
    * gay for the stay * staycation

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) , see (l).

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l), (l), (l)

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Steep; ascending.
  • (of a roof) Steeply pitched.
  • Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer.
  • Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud.
  • Adverb

    (en-adv)
  • Steeply.
  • Statistics

    *