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What is the difference between stay and leave?

stay | leave |

In transitive terms the difference between stay and leave

is that stay is to wait for; await while leave is to give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.

In intransitive terms the difference between stay and leave

is that stay is to continue to have a particular quality while leave is to depart; to go away from a certain place or state.

In obsolete terms the difference between stay and leave

is that stay is hindrance; let; check while leave is to raise; to levy.

As nouns the difference between stay and leave

is that stay is a strong rope supporting a mast, and leading from the head of one mast down to some other, or other part of the vessel while leave is the action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.

As verbs the difference between stay and leave

is that stay is to incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays while leave is To have a consequence or remnant.

As an adjective stay

is steep; ascending.

As an adverb stay

is steeply.

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

    *

    leave

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) leven, from (etyl) (whence Danish levne). More at .

    Verb

  • To have a consequence or remnant.
  • #To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.
  • #:
  • #*, chapter=7
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • #To cause, to result in.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Stephen Crane)
  • , title=, chapter=1 , passage=There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fellers from the Upside-down-F ranch shot 'em up
  • #*, chapter=23
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}
  • #*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.}}
  • #(lb) To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver, with a sense of withdrawing oneself.
  • #:
  • #*Bible, (w) v. 24
  • #*:Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way.
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:The foot / That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks.
  • (lb) To depart; to separate from.
  • #To let be or do without interference.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To depart from; to end one's connection or affiliation with.
  • #:
  • #*
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}
  • #(lb) To end one's membership in (a group); to terminate one's affiliation with (an organization); to stop participating in (a project).
  • #:
  • #(lb) To depart; to go away from a certain place or state.
  • #:
  • (lb) To transfer something.
  • #(lb) To transfer possession of after death.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To give (something) to someone; to deliver (something) to a repository; to deposit.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To transfer responsibility or attention of (something) (to someone); to stop being concerned with.
  • #:
  • To remain (behind); to stay.
  • *:
  • *:And whanne sire launcelot sawe them fare soo / he gat a spere in his hand / and there encountred with hym al attones syr bors sir Ector and sire Lyonel / and alle they thre smote hym atte ones with their speres // and by mysfortune sir bors smote syre launcelot thurgh the shelde in to the syde / and the spere brake / and the hede lefte stylle in his syde
  • *
  • *:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
  • To stop, desist from; to "leave off" (+ noun / gerund).
  • *1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) V:
  • *:When he had leeft speakynge, he sayde vnto Simon: Cary vs into the depe, and lett slippe thy nette to make a draught.
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:Now leave complaining and begin your tea.
  • Synonyms
    * (sense, to end one's connection with) depart, forget, leave behind
    Derived terms
    * beleave * forleave * leave behind * leave for dead * leave no stone unturned * leave nothing in the tank * leave someone hanging * leave someone high and dry * leave someone holding the bag * leave off * leave out * leave in the lurch * leave well enough alone * not leave one's thought * overleave * up and leave

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (cricket) The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.
  • (billiards) The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).
  • * 1890 February 27, "Slosson's Close Shave"], in [[w:New York Times, The New York Times] :
  • Having counted 38 points he tried a beautiful out of the corner, hit the first ball just a trife too hard and kissed his own ball off just when victory seemed to be his. The leave was unfortunate for Ives. Slosson played brilliantly and ran the game out, a close winner, with 22 points.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) leve, from (etyl) . Related to (etyl) verlof, (etyl) Erlaubnis. See also (l).

    Noun

    (-)
  • Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.
  • I've been given three weeks' leave by my boss.
  • (senseid)(dated, or, legal) Permission.
  • Might I beg leave to accompany you?
    The applicant now seeks leave to appeal and, if leave be granted, to appeal against these sentences.
  • (dated) Farewell, departure.
  • I took my leave of the gentleman without a backward glance.
    Derived terms
    * administrative leave * annual leave * by your leave * compassionate leave * leave of absence * maternity leave * on leave * parental leave * paternity leave * shore leave * sick leave * take French leave * take leave * ticket-of-leave

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) leven, from (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.
  • Etymology 4

    From (etyl) leven, from . More at (l).

    Verb

  • (rare) To produce leaves or foliage.Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed.
  • * 1868 , , The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám , 2nd edition:
  • Each Morn a thousand Roses brings, you say:
    Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday?
    Synonyms
    * leaf (verb)

    Etymology 5

    See levy.

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To raise; to levy.
  • * Spenser
  • An army strong she leaved .

    References

    * *