▪ I. † sty, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 st{iacu}ᵹ (stiiᵹ), 2, 4 stiȝ, 3 Orm. stiȝhe, stih, 3–4 sti, 4 stighe (steghe, stieghe, stighte), styȝe, 4–5 stie, stye, 4–6 sty, (6 dial. stee).
[OE. st{iacu}ᵹ fem. = MDu. stîge (early mod.Du. stijghe), OHG. stîga (MHG. stîge):—OTeut. *stīᵹō; a parallel masc. form *stīᵹo-z is represented by MLG. stîch, stîg-, OHG., MHG. stîc, stîg- (mod.G. steig), ON. st{iacu}g-r (MSw. stîgher, mod.Sw. stig, Da. sti). From Teut. root *stī̆ᵹ- to go, climb: see sty v.1
Synonymous words from other grades of the root are Goth. staiga, OHG. steiga (MHG. steige):—OTeut. *staiᵹō; MLG. stech, steg- (LG. steg); MDu. stege (mod.Du. steeg fem., path, steg masc., narrow bridge):—OTeut. *stiᵹu-z.]
A path or narrow way.
| Beowulf 320 Stræt wæs stan-fah stiᵹ wisode gumum ætgædere. c 725 Corpus Gloss 651 Devia callis, horweg [= orweᵹ] stiᵹ. [c 875 Erfurt Gloss 340 Devia callis, horuaeg stiiᵹ.] c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxviii [cxix]. 105 Þæt ys þæt strange leoht stiᵹe minre. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þe witeȝa het þet we sculde makien his stiᵹes [rihte]; þenne make we ham rihte ȝef we haldet his beode. c 1200 Ormin 6208 Tatt narrwe stih Þatt ledeþþ ȝunnc till heoffne. c 1250 Gen. & Exod. 3958 Balaam..bet and went it to ðe sti Bi-twen two walles of ston. a 1300 Cursor M. 4575, I folud siþen, me-thoght, a sti Vntil a feild. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14191 To Souþhaumptone he tok þe sty. 1382 Wyclif Job xix. 8 My sty he heggide aboute, and I mai not gon ouer. a 1430 Sev. Sage (Cott. Galba) 3621 Þan sho toke þe preue sty Into þe toure ful hastily. |
b. Alliterative phrase, by sty and street.
| c 1205 Lay. 16366 Ten þusend Scottes he sende bi-halues þe hæðene to imete bi stiȝen & by straten. c 1425 Cast. Persev. 364 Leue hym nowth, but cum with me, be stye & strete! a 1600 Flodden F. ii. (1664) 18 He brought them on by stee and street. |
▪ II. sty, n.2 north. dial.
Forms: 3–4 sti, 5 stegh, stiȝe, 5–7 stye, 5, 6, 9 stie, 8 steeigh, sty, 9 stey, 5– stee.
[a. ON. stige, stege wk. masc. (MSw. stighi, mod.Sw. stege, Da. stige), f. OTeut. root *stī̆ᵹ-: see sty v.1 Cf. OE. stiᵹe str. masc., ‘ascension’, MLG. stege fem. step, staircase, OHG. stega fem. (MHG. stege) step, staircase, ladder.
The Eng. word has always been confined to northern dialects showing strong Scandinavian influence. The form stee shows that the original form had a short i.]
A ladder.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3779 In slepe he sagh stand vp a sti, Fra his heued right to þe ski. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1437 Sum stepis vp on sties to þe stane wallis. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 309 Sho..gatt a stye & clam vp at a hy wall to a wyndow of þe prison. c 1440 York Myst. xxxiv. 90 And sties also are ordande þore, With stalworthe steeles as mystir wore. Bothe some schorte and some lang. 1567–8 in Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 114 To Mr. Watson for a great long stie, 8s. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 137 Our longe styes lye allsoe under this helme all winter. 1674 Ray N.C. Words, A Stee: a ladder. c 1746 J. Collier (Tim Bobbin) View Lanc. Dial Wks. (1862) 44 We reeart th' Steeigh sawfly ogen th' Wough under th' Eawlhoyle. 1804 J. Hodgson in Raine Life (1857) I. 25, I could always frighten them well by going a few steps up the stee and showing my black head. 1881 Cornh. Mag. Jan. 126 Our Nancy's husband's brother fell off the stee. |
b. attrib.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 360/2 A Stee staffe, scalare. |
▪ III. sty, n.3
(staɪ)
Pl. sties (staɪz). Forms: 3 sti, 6, 7, 9 stie, 4– sty, stye.
[OE. st{iacu} (in comb. st{iacu}-fearh ‘sty-pig’), prob. identical with stiᵹ (ᵹ from j), ? hall (cf. stiᵹ-weard steward n.); corresp. to ON. st{iacu} neut., once (A'grip 26, 12th c.) in comb. sv{iacu}n-st{iacu} ‘swine-sty’ (Da. sti, svinsti; Norw. sti flock of sheep or goats, also ‘household work, esp. with regard to the feeding of the animals’; repr. OTeut. type *stijo-m, f. root *stī̆-: *stai-). A parallel formation, OTeut. *stijōn- wk. fem., is represented by ON. st{iacu}a pen, fold, MSw. st{iacu}a in sv{iacu}na stia (mod.Sw. svinstiga) and st{iacu}ogalder ‘sty-pig’, MLG. stege, sty, MDu. stije, swijn-stije (mod.Du. stijg). Cf. also OHG. stîga (MHG. stîge, but also stîje) cattle-stall, which is perh. cognate, but influenced in form by derivatives of the root *stī̆ᵹ-: see sty n.1, sty v.1]
1. An enclosed place where swine are kept, usually a low shed with an uncovered fore-court, a pigsty.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 128 Nout ase swin ipund ine sti uorte uetten. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 121 He groneth lyk oure boor lith in oure sty. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 154 Þai..liffez in lust and lyking of þe flesch, as a swyne fedd in stye. 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 32 Put bore in stie For Hallontide nie. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 13 There is also a thirde stie..for the fatting of my Porkes. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iv. xiii. 62 Shall I abide In this dull world, which in thy absence is No better then a Stye? 1615 Chapman Odyss. xiv. 21 Euery Sty Had roome and vse, for fifty Swine to lye. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 181/2 A Stie is the out-courts, or limits of the Swine coat in which they walk and eat their Meat; but generally we call both the Cote and its outlet a Stie. 1725 Pope Odyss. x. 459 She..hast'ning to the styes set wide the door, Urg'd forth, and drove the bristly herd before. 1864 S. P. Fox Kingsbridge Estuary viii. 91 His wife went as usual to feed her pig... For some cause she entered the stye. 1882 Jessopp Arcady ii. (1887) 33 The tottering old crone..can give the alarm if the pig is in danger of breaking out of the sty. |
2. transf. and fig. in opprobrious uses. a. A human habitation (or sleeping-place) no better than a pigsty.
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iv. Handicrafts 363 Some others yet more gross Their homely Sties in stead of wals inclose. 1684 Otway Atheist i. i, A foul-feeding Witch, that lived in a thatch'd Sty upon the neighb'ring Common. a 1687 Sir W. Petty Pol. Anat. Irel. (1691) 14 Local Wealth I understand to be the building of 168,000 small Stone-wall Houses..instead of the lamentable Sties now in use. 1712 Motteux Quix. iii. ii. (1749) I. 115 By this time Sancho..was crept into his sty, where he did all he could to sleep. 1826 Renton in Trans. Med.-Chirur. Soc. Edin. II. 376 The lower orders of the inhabitants, its principal victims, live huddled together in close and crowded sties. |
b. An abode of bestial lust, or of moral pollution generally; a place inhabited or frequented by the morally degraded.
| a 1400 Fest. Church 142 in Leg. Rood App. 215 Þenk on hellestynkyng stye, Where goostis brenin bynde. 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 36 On the one side of the Street a Cloyster of Virgins: on the other a stie of Courtizans. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. iv. 94. 1640 Grimston Sp. Impeachment Abp. Laud (1641) 2 The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury..is the stye of all Pestilent filth, that hath infected the State, and Government of the Church and Common-wealth. 1645 Milton Tetrach. 11 What is this but to abuse the sacred and misterious bed of marriage to be the compulsive stie of an ingratefull and malignant lust. 1648 W. Jenkyn Blind Guide i. 5 Could more be said for the removall of any stewes or stie of sin? 1790 Burke Refl. Fr. Rev. (ed. 2) 238 The painted booths and sordid sties of vice and luxury. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 403 But whatever our dramatists touched they tainted. In their imitations the houses of Calderon's stately and highspirited Castilian gentlemen became sties of vice. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. I. Introd. §14. 89 A people which had neither sunk to sleep in the lap of material prosperity, nor abased itself in the sty of ignorance and political servitude. |
3. Comb.
| 1611 Cotgr., Bacquier..a stye-fed hog. 1864 Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 33 No pork appears on a Calcutta table except such as has been sty-fed. 1917 Times 22 Mar. 7/2 French fields revive and the defilers flee Sty-ward driven back. |
▪ IV. sty, n.4
(staɪ)
[Prob. a back-formation from styany (interpreted as sty-on-eye). But cf. early mod.Du. stijghe (Kilian), WFris. stiich, Norw. stig.]
An inflammatory swelling on the eyelid.
| 1617 Fletcher Mad Lover v. i, Fool. I have a Stye here, Chilax. Chi. I have no Gold to cure it. a 1667 Skinner Etymol. Ling. Angl., A Sty, (i.e.) Tumor Palpebræ Phlegmonodes. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 191 It cures the Sty in the Eye-Lids. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words, Sty—or Styney, a troublesome little excresence or pimple on the eye-lid. 1835 Marryat J. Faithful xvi, I hope your lordship's sty is better in your lordship's eye. 1902 W. W. Jacobs Sunwich Port v. 44 You've got a sty coming on your eye. |
▪ V. † sty, v.1 Obs.
Forms: see below; also with prefix 1 ᵹe-, 2–3 i-.
[OE. st{iacu}ᵹan (stáh, stiᵹun, stiᵹen), a Com. Teut. str. vb. corresponding to OFris. stîga, OS. stîgan, MDu. stîghen (mod.Du. stîjgen), OHG. stîgan (MHG. stîgen, mod.G. steigen), ON. st{iacu}ga (MSw. stîgha, mod.Sw. stiga, Da. stige), Goth. steigan:—OTeut. *stī̆ᵹ- (: *staiᵹ-):—Indogermanic *steigh- (: *stoigh- *stigh-) to go, represented by Skr. *stigh to step, stride, Gr. στείχειν to go, στοῖχος, στίχος a row, line, L. ve-stīgium footstep, trace.
Of the weak inflexion a doubtful trace appears in ONorthumbrian; otherwise it has not been found earlier than the 13th c.]
A. Inflexional Forms.
1. inf. and pres. stem. 1 st{iacu}ᵹan, North, st{iacu}ᵹe, 2–5 stiȝe-n, (2–3 Orm. stiȝhenn), 3 stihe-n, 4–5 styȝe, 3–4 stighe, 4 stiyhe, north. steich, 5–7 stygh, 3 steo, ste-n, 3–4 stei(e, 5–6 stey, 5 stey-yn, 4–5 stegh, 4 steȝe, steye, steyȝ(e, (6 stee), 2–7 stie, 4–7 stye, 5–7 sty.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xx. 18 Heonu we stiᵹes vel we scilon stiᵹe [Vulg. ecce ascendimus]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 111 Siððen he is buuen alle heȝnesse hwider sholde he stiȝe. Ibid. 145 Ure drihten wolde..deð þolien and arisen of deaðe and to heuene stie. a 1240 Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 201 Ne wene nomon to stihen wið este to þe steorren. a 1250 Five Joys in Rel. Ant. I. 49 [Þou] iseie him in to heuene sten. c 1250 Long Life 38 in O.E. Misc. 158 Weilawei deþ þe schal adun þrowe þer þu wenest heȝest to steo. 13.. Bonaventura's Medit. 208 He ros fro deþ to heuene to stye. c 1315 Shoreham Poems v. 252 Hi seȝ ihesus..Op in-to heuene steȝe. a 1325 Prose Psalter cxxxviii. 7 [cxxxix. 8] Ȝif ich steiȝe to heuen þou art þer. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxiii. 3 Who sall stegh in þe hill of lord. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. met. ix. (1886) 69 O fadyr yiue thow to the thowht to styen vp in to the streyte sete. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 473/1 Steyyn vp, scando, ascendo. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 153 When þay seen hym..bodyly stey vp wyth soo gret multitude of angeles. 1460–70 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 229 Take þi crosse to þee, and folewe me, If þou wolt to my blis up stiȝe. ? a 1500 Chester Pl., Ascension 96 You shall haue here my Blessinge for to heaven I must stye. 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 234 Lightest phantasies that sty abooue the highest region of the cloudes. 1605 R. B. Commend. Verses in Verstegan's Dec. Intell., Industrious then Verstiegan forwards stygh, Raise vp thy nations ancient woorthy fame. |
b. 3rd pers. sing. pres. 1 st{iacu}ᵹeþ, st{iacu}ᵹþ, st{iacu}hþ, 3 stiheð, stihð, styhð, 4 stegth, steþ, 4–5 styeþ, 6 stithe, 7 sties.
| c 888 [see B 1]. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xiii. 61 His [sc. the sun] ofer moncyn stihð á upweardes. a 1225 Ancr. R. 216 Uor stench stihð uppard. 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2288 Up to the halle rof he stegth. c 1320 Cast. Love 1490 Þat from heuene com, to heuene he steþ. ? c 1400 Erthe upon Erthe App. i. 42 Wanne eorthe ouer eorthe þorw prude styeþ. a 1535 More Fortune 111 in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 75 He holdeth faste, but vpward as he stithe, She whippeth her whele abowt, & þer he lieth. 1613 J. Davies (Heref.) Muse's Tears E 2 b, And, (as a Flame) she still, by Nature, sties Where her Originall reposed lies. |
2. pa. tense. a. sing. (α) 1 stáᵹ, stáh, 2–3 stah, steah, steh, steȝ, steȝh, 3 stawe, 2–4 steiȝ, 3–5 stegh, stey, 4 steigh, steyȝ, steegh, steaȝ (Kent.), steeȝ, steghe, steye, steyȝe, stehe, steiȝe, steihe, styh, stih, sti, 4–5 stigh, 5 stygh, sty.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xix. 4 He stah up on an treow. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 3 Seðen ure louerd ihesu crist steh to heuene. Ibid. 23 Þo he steah to heuene. Ibid. 165 Þreo siðes steȝh þis holie maiden. c 1200 Ormin 5987 He stah upp till heoffne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 250 Þoa he steih into heouene. c 1275 Five Joys 26 in O.E. Misc. 88 Þo þi sone to heouene steyh. a 1300 Fall & Pass. 107 in E.E.P. (1862) 15 An after he steiȝ to heuen aboue. a 1300 Cursor M. 19009 (Edin.) Til heuin he steich. Ibid. 22723 Til heuin he stehe. 13.. K. Alis. 5827 The Kyng..steegh [Laud MS. steeȝ] on the wal. c 1315 Shoreham Poems i. 50 Heron ihesus stawe vppe bi-fore. a 1325 Prose Psalter xlvi[i]. 5 God steȝ up in swete songe. 1340 Ayenb. 13 He..steaȝ into heuene. c 1375 Lay-Folks Mass-Bk. (MS. B.) 225 He stegh til heuen. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 113 Out of þat mount Crist steihe vp into heuene. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 273 He styh up to his fader. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 810 He steiȝ vp to heuene. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 4 He steye in till Heuen. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxiv. 219 Þi sone in to heuene stih. 1400 Gower To Hen. IV 176 in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 9 Er Crist..stigh to hevene. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3467 He þat stiȝe to þe sternes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) viii. 96 Fro that Mount, steighe..Jesu Crist to Hevene. c 1430 Hoccleve New Ploughman's T. 114 Shee vp to heuene ascendid up and sty. c 1440 Floriz & Bl. 892 Vp in to þe Toure he steyȝ. a 1450 Myrc Par. Pr. 518 Cryst..Stegh in-to heuene. |
(β) weak forms. 1 north. ? stiᵹade, 3–5 stide, 4–5 stiede, (4 sticht Sc.), 4 stiȝ-, styȝede, stighede, steȝede, steiȝed, -ide, styede, steiede, 5 steyt, 5 steyv(u)d, 5–6 steyyid, steyde, 6 steyed, 4–6 styed, 5–6 stied.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John v. 4 Of dune staᵹade [? for stiᵹade]. c 1275 Lay. 10737 Þe eorl..letten louke þe ȝates and stide to walle. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints l. (Catherine) 759, & sayand þis, he sticht in hewyn with mekill Ioy & angelis stewyne. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxi. 22 The wise man steȝede vp. ― Matt. xiv. 23 He steiȝide [1388 stiede] vp in to an hill aloone for to preye. ― Luke xix. 4 And he rennynge bifore, stiȝede in to a sycamoure tree. c 1400 Beryn 1592 A marynere..Styed in-to the topcastell. c 1436 Libel Engl. Policy in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 204 He that..came frome hevyne, and stiede up with our nature. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 152 He..steȝt vp ynto Heuen. Ibid. 154 Þus..Crist steyd ynto Heuen. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 7 He stied to heuen. c 1460 Play Sacram. 423 How he styed by hys own powre. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1341 He steyyd to hevyn. 1492 Ryman Poems xlvi. 7 in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXIX. 213 He..rose ayene..and to blis steyde. a 1500 Adrian & Epotys 342 in Brome Bk. 36 He steyed to heuyn. Ibid. 446, 40 And yn to heuyn he steyyud [printed steyynd]. 1557 T. Phaer æneid v. (1558) O iij, He spake, and thynne from sight as smoke, in skyes disperst he styed. |
(γ) 5 steut.
| c 1450 Mirk's Festial 232 Yn to þe tyme þat he steut ynto Heuen. |
b. 2nd pers. sing. 3 stihe, stuhe, 4 stehe, stey, stei, 5 stiȝ.
| a 1225 Juliana 62 Þu..stihe [Bodl. MS. stuhe] abuuen þe steorren to þe heste heouene. a 1300 Cursor M. 25580 Þat ilk time til heuen stei [Fairf. MS. stey] þou,..suete iesu! a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxv. 69 Jhesu, for love thou stehe on rode. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 102 Þou stiȝ to heuen in þi manhede. |
c. pl. (α) 1 stiᵹon, -un, steoᵹun, 2–3 stiȝen, 4 styȝe, stowe(n.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 1375 Sæs up stiᵹon ofer stæþweallas. c 1205 Lay. 26005 Ouer þan watere heo comen..& stiȝen up þan hulle. 13.. King Alis. 1209 They into the walles stowe. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 389 Summe styȝe to a stud & stared to þe heuen. |
(β) weak forms. 4 styeden, stiȝeden, stei-, steyden, 4–5 stieden, 5 stiden, 6 (as sing.).
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. xiii. 18 And armed steyden vp [1388 stieden] the sones of Yrael. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4948 Two chere men..Stiden vpon stithe horse. 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xviii. 259 The vij kijn thynne and leene, whiche stieden up after tho. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. xiv. 288 To heuen we styed a place moost gloryous. |
3. pa. pple. (α) strong forms. 1 stiȝen, 2–3 Orm. stiȝhenn, 3 i-stihe(n, 2–4 stoȝen, 3–4 stei (north. steich), 4 stiȝe, steie.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 107 For he mai findan fele þe beoð bet iþoȝen and istoȝen þene he. c 1200 Ormin 8488 Affterr þatt daȝȝ þatt Crist himm sellf Wass stiȝhenn upp till heoffne. a 1300 Cursor M. 20908 (Edin.) Seix and xxx winter euin fra ihesu criste was steich [Cott. MS. stei] till heuin. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 5027 By þat were stoȝen vp wyþ vygour An hundren Sarsyns oppon þe tour. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 227 Oo Kyng of bliss, Lord of vertues, þat..art þis day i-steie up above alle hevenes. |
(β) weak forms. 4 steied(e, steyed, -id, stiȝed, styȝed, 5 steȝid, steyt, styet, steyut, (steuet), 5–6 styed, 4–6 stied.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 20831 (Fairf.) Ofter [sic] hir sone til heiuen was steyed. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 25 Aftir þat Crist was steied to hevene. c 1400 Three Kings Cologne (1886) 31 Aftir tyme þat oure lord was styed vp into heuene. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 27 Whan Cryst was styet vp into Heuen. Ibid. 159 When our Lord Crist was steyut ynto Heuen, his dyscyples wern in care and mornyng. Ibid. 232 Aftyr þat hur sonne was steuet ynto Heuen. Ibid. 262 Tyll he was steyt vp ynto Heuen. 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus R ij, When thou haste..stied to the seate of my dignitie. 1587 Golding De Mornay i. (1592) 5 As from the Earth we haue styed up to the aire. |
B. Signification.
1. intr. To ascend, mount up, rise or climb to a higher level. Said of persons and things. Also fig. Often with up, upwards.
Often used of the ascension of Christ or of Elijah (for examples see A). In the last quarter of the 16th c. the verb survived only as a literary archaism, and in the 17th c. it became wholly obsolete.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxvii. 19 Stiᵹende in heanisse [L. ascendens in altum]. c 888 ælfred Boeth. xxv, Eft heo [sc. the sun] secð hire ᵹecynde & stiᵹð on þa dæᵹlan weᵹas wið hire uprynæs. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Heo stiȝen uppeon þe godes cunnes treowe & nomen þa twigga. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 217 An ȝerd sal spruten of iesse more and an blosme stien of þare more. c 1200 Ormin 10673, & forrþrihht alls he fullhtnedd wass He stah uppo þe strande. Ibid. 11827 Ȝiff aniȝ mann uss læreþþ, To stiȝhenn upp till haliȝ lif & upp till heȝhe mahhtess. a 1225 St. Marher. 13 Þe stench þæt of þi muð stiheð. c 1250 Owl & Night. 1405 Þe gost..styhþ on heyh þur modynesse. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6579 It [sc. the tide] watte is brech al aboute & euere vpward it stey. a 1300 Fall & Pass. 9 in E.E.P. (1862) 13 Þo lucifer steiȝ in pride. 13.. Bonaventura's Medit. 635 Cryst Ihesu hys body vpp stey, By þat short ladder, þat cros an hy. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8341 Þe lowe was mikel, & vp-ward stey, So þat hit in to þe castel fley, & vp in to þe tour hit went. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. vi. (1868) 143 Whan þou art wel refresshed..þou shalt ben more stedfast to stye in to heyere questiouns. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 191 But mannus foly & pride stieþ vp euere more & more in þis veyn nouelrie. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. i. (Skeat) 45 Steyers to steye on is none. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 73 Moistures styen vp to þe croppys of trees and to þe heuedys of braunches. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 4 That we may stye and glorified be Where crist is kyng þat dyed on tre. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye ii. 172 And oute of the rowte therof shal stye vp a flowre. c 1530 Judic. Urines ii. xiv. 45 b, Coler..styeth vp & puttet hym selfe in to the vterest partis of the body. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 9 The womb passage..takith his begynnyng at the passage port: and from thense styeth..right vpward vnder y⊇ share bone. 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. v. 319 Till now that she [Pallas] did stie From Seriph in a hollow cloud. 1583 ― Calvin on Deut. xxiii. 135 Their wit styeth not high. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 25 The beast..Thought with his winges to stye above the ground. 1590 ― Muiop. 42 From this lower tract he dar'd to stie Up to the clowdes. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Q 4 b, These great men..had seperately contended to outstrip Pindarus in his Olympicis, and sty aloft to the highest pitch. 1599 Peele David & Bethsabe xv. 125 The eagle..is emboldened With eyes intentive to bedare the sun, And styeth close unto his stately sphere. 1601 Verstegan Odes Imit. Penit. Ps. etc. 92 And as her feet did trauaile on the ground, Her inward mynde did vp to heauen stie. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 382 Led along, as some Creatures are, by the Noses, and voluntarily hood-winked: or like seeled Doues, stye vp, you know not whither, nor how farre. 1652 Benlowes Theoph. vi. xviii, That She might stye to th' Seat of Beatifick Mirth! |
2. To climb over something.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2388 ‘Maubyn,’ saide þe Amyral ‘wolt þou hit vndertake, To steȝe out ouer þe castel wal.’ 1382 Wyclif 1 Sam. xiii. 23 Forsothe the stacioun of Philistym went out, for to stye ouer into aspijs to fiȝt. |
3. With down adv., or other contextual indication: To descend. Also gen. to ascend or descend.
| c 825 Vesp. Hymns iii. 21 Ða ofdune steoᵹun in seað [L. qui descendunt in lacum]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark xiii. 15 Se þe is ofer þecone ne stiᵹe he on his hus. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 111 Erest he steȝ neoðer and siðen on hegh. c 1200 Ormin 16700 Wiþþutenn himm þatt stah forr menn Off heffne dun till erþe. a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxi. 30 In his sight sal be falland Alle þat doune stighen in land [Vulg. qui descendunt in terram]. |
4. trans. a. To ascend, climb up (a hill).
| 1491 Caxton Vitas Patr. (1495) 129 Wherof some wold haue styed the mountayn. |
b. To convey up hill.
| 1511 Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 80 At the sayd Noualassa we toke moyles to stey us vp the mountayne. |
▪ VI. sty, v.2
(staɪ)
Also stye.
[OE. stiᵹian, f. stiᵹ, st{iacu} sty n. Cf. ON. st{iacu}a.]
1. trans. To place or confine (swine) in a sty. Also with up.
| a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia IX. 262 Swyn stiᵹian. 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 40 At Mihelmas safely go stie vp thy Bore. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. v. xvi. 96 First, you shall stie vp those Swine which you intend to feede. 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. viii. 67 As for the common way of brawning Bores, by stying them up in so close a room that they cannot turn themselves round about. 1674 Flatman Belly God 76 The Hampshire Hog with Pease and Whey that's fed Sti'd up, is neither good alive nor dead. 1725 Bradley's Family Dict. s.v. Swine, In Champain Countries they must sty up thin Hogs. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xvi, The inn..was the most beggarly vile place that ever pigs were styed in. 1899 Lumsden Edin. Poems 108 The times wad be amiss When I styed here my soo. |
b. transf. To confine as in a sty; to place in narrow and uncomfortable quarters; to pen up.
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 342 And here you sty me In this hard Rocke, whiles you doe keepe from me The rest o' th' Island. 1622 Massinger & Dekker Virg. Mart. v. i, Bandogs (kept three dayes hungry) worried 1000. British Rascals, styed vp, fat Of purpose. 1646 Trapp Comm. John xxi. 2, 144 God dwels in the Assembly of Saints: shall we, like Stoicks stie up our selves, and not daily runne into their company? |
2. intr. To share a sty with; to dwell as in a sty.
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1768) VIII. 61 What woman..did she know what miry wallowers the generality of men of our class are in themselves, and constantly trough and sty with, but would [etc.]. 1829 Fonblanque Eng. under 7 Administr. (1837) I. 283 See in your public estate too the havoc the pigs make,..who..devour your cabbages,..stye in your house, and grunt in your Parliament. 1894 H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Rom. 145 A nice piggery for successful squatters to sty in, I must say. |
Hence styed ppl. a., set in a sty.
| 1829 E. Elliott Village Patriarch iii. ix, Yet, unlike thee Is minion'd Erin's sty'd and root-fed clown. |
▪ VII. sty, stye, int. Sc. and north.
(staɪ)
Chiefly in to say (or know) neither buff nor stye: see buff n.5 A. b.
| ? a 1750–1824: see buff n.5 A. b. 1823 Galt Entail li, He was clean dementit at that time,..he would neither buff nor stye for father nor mother, friend nor foe. 1885 ‘J. Strathesk’ More Bits Blinkbonny i. 5 Ye can neither make buff nor stye o' them. |