▪ I. stalk, n.1
(stɔːk)
Also 4–7 stalke, 7 staulk, 8 Sc. stawk.
[ME. (14th c.) stalke, app. a dim. with k suffix f. stal- in stale n.2 (? OE. stalu). The exact formal equivalent does not occur in the other Teut. langs., but a parallel formation from the ablaut-variant stel- (in OE. stela steal n., stem, handle, etc.) is found in NFris. stelk, MSw. stiälke, stiälker (mod.Sw. stjelk, stjälk), Norw. stylk, stilk, stelk, stalk, Da. stilk, mod.Icel. stilk-ur. Cf. Eng. dial. stelch, post, stake.]
1. a. The main stem of a herbaceous plant, bearing the flowers and leaves; also, a scape or flower-stem rising directly from the root.
| a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1701 The stalke [Fr. la coe] was as rysshe right And theron stode the knoppe vpright. 1382 Wyclif Hosea viii. 7 A stondynge stalk [Vulg. culmus stans] is not in hem. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxvi. (1495) 711 The mydyll stalke of an herbe or of a tree highte Tirsus. 1412–20 Lydg. Troy Bk. i. 3106 Floures..Vp-on her stalke gan splaie her levis wyde. 1483 Cath. Angl. 359/1 A Sstalke, calamus. 1538 Elyot Dict., Frutex, that which hath a great stalke and yet it is no tree, as fenelle. 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 33 Beanes..both the Coddes and the stalke, is a foode that cattel muche delightes in. 1591 Spenser Bellay's Ruines Rome xxx, Like as the seeded field..from greene grasse into a stalke doth spring, And from a stalke into an eare forth-growes. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. li. 269 Dwale, or sleeping Night⁓shade hath round blackish stalks sixe foote high. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 28 Every stalke of their corne commonly beareth two eares. 1640 T. Brugis Marrow Physicke ii. 147 To dry Lettice Stalkes, Artichocke Stalkes, or Cabbage Stalkes. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 480 So from the root Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves More aerie. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 548 Having filled a sponge with vinegar..they put it upon a stalk of hyssop. c 1730 Ramsay To D. Malloch vii, Misty minds that plod And thresh for thought, but ne'er advance Their stawk aboon their clod. 1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. Expl. Terms 378 Scapus, a Stalk, elevating the Fructification and not the Leaves. 1779 Cowper Olney H. i. lxxxv, We find a tall and sickly stalk But not the fruitful ear. 1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek iv. 92 The stalk of flax that waves in my field. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia (1863) 87 It is a long green reed, like the stalk of the maize. 1910 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 263/2, I looked through the rough tangle of stalks and stems. |
b. The woody core of hemp and flax.
| 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 39 b, The Shales or Stalkes [of hemp] serue for the heating of Ouens. 1838 [see boon n.2]. |
† c. ? nonce-use. A bit of straw, a ‘mote’.
| c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's Prol. 65 He kan wel in myn eye seen a stalke But in his owene he kan nat seen a balke. |
2. a. The comparatively slender connecting part by which a vegetable organ is attached to the plant; the petiole of a leaf, the peduncle or pedicel of a flower, fruit, or inflorescence, the stipe of an ovary, or the like.
| c 1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 150 Outez l'estiche et la parure [gloss the stalke and the paring], E lour donez la morsure [gloss the body of the appel]. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. met. vi. (1868) 26 Þe stalkes of þe vine [L. palmites]. 1530 Palsgr. 275/1 Stalke of any frute, queve. 1538 Elyot Dict., Pediculus,..the stalke of an apple or peare, or other frute. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 82 They gather a darke or blackish kind of cherry, and casting away the stalkes, put them into a great cauldron. 1632 Marmion Holland's Leaguer ii. v, Have my love Shak'd off because 'tis ripe, but let me hang by The stalk of your mercy. 1808 Scott Marm. iii. xvii, I on its stalk had left the rose. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1090/2 Stalk, the stem or support to an organ; as the petiole of a leaf, the peduncle or pedicel of a flower, &c. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 105 The half-spindle-shaped ones [sc. cystoliths of Acanthaceæ] are attached by a very thin short stalk. 1909 G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy iv. 89 The man of science says: Cut this stalk and the apple will fall. |
b. A similar slender connecting part by which an animal organ or structure is attached or supported.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxiii. 357 Stipes (the Stalk). The corneous base of the Maxilla, below the Palpus. 1866 Tate Brit. Mollusks iii. 47 The head bears two..tentacles..with the stalks bearing the eyes attached to them on the outside. 1899 D. Sharp Insects ii. 317 When a portion of a nervure beyond the basal or primary portion serves as a common piece to two forked parts external to it, it is called a stalk. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 824 The ‘stalk’ of the tumour. |
† 3. The shank of a hawk. Obs.
| c 1575 Perf. Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 5 Tokens of a good Hawke:..stalke short and bygg: foot large, wyde, [etc.]. Ibid. 31 Good for any swellinge in fote or stalke. |
4. Applied to various erect slender objects. † a. The upright of a ladder: = stale n.2 1.
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 439 His owene hand made laddres thre To clymben by the ronges and the stalkes In to the tubbes hangynge in the balkes. |
b. The shaft of a chimney. Cf. stack n. 5 b.
| 1821 Scott Kenilw. iii, Twisted stalks of chimneys of heavy stone-work. 1838 Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 406/2 Vast improvements have been made..in building stalks for steam boilers and chemical furnaces. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 280 To..increase the solidity of an insulated stalk of this kind, it is built with three or more successive plinths, or recedures. 1885 R. L. & F. Stevenson Dynamiter 134 A great stalk of chimneys. |
c. A columnar rock; = stack n. 7. local.
| 1806 Gazetteer Scot. (ed. 2) 149 The Stalks of Dungisbay, as they are called, are two pyramidal pillars, of naked free⁓stone rock. |
d. coarse slang. A penis, esp. one that is erect.
| 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. (1609) l. 147 My wofull selfe..Threw my affections in his charmed power, Reseru'd the stalke and gaue him al my flower. 1608 ― Per. iv. vi. 46 Bawd. Heere comes that which growes to the stalke, Neuer pluckt yet I can assure you. Is shee not a faire creature? |
| [1939 Joyce Finnegans Wake (1964) ii. 236 Just so stylled with the nattes are their flowerheads now and each of all has a lovestalk onto herself.] 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1293/2 Stalk,..an erection. 1976 A. White Long Silence iv. 37, I had a stalk on me long as my arm. A right handful, that one. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) ii. 79 My stalk verged upon response, upon enlargement and erection. 1979 W. Styron Sophie's Choice ii. 45 She..prepared to take between those lips unkissed by my own the bone-rigid stalk of my passion. |
5. a. The main part of anything long and slender, as distinguished from the extremities.
| 1530 Palsgr. 275/1 Stalke of a shafte, fvst. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 221 The tops of the hair appeare blacke, the foot and stalke being white. |
† b. The shaft of a quill; a quill. Obs.
| c 1440 Lydg. Hors, Shepe & G. 183 Men plukke stalkes out of my weengis tweyn, Some to portraye, somme to noote & write. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 172, I tried it by fixing the leggs of a Fly upon the top of the stalk of a feather. 1681 Grew Musæum i. §2. ii. 22 The Plume or Stalk of a Quill. |
† c. The stem of a fork or spoon. Obs.
| a 1423 in Archæologia LXI. 173, j fork of siluer w{supt} a Dragouns hede holding up the stalk for grenynges. 1496 Will of Dynham (Somerset Ho.), A forke of siluer with a stalke of corall for grene ginger. 1522 Will of P. Baynard (ibid.), A doseyn sponys where p is in the stalk. |
d. The tube or stem of a thermometer.
| 1833 N. Arnott Physics (ed. 5) II. 111 It is easy to proportion the bulb and the stalk to each other, so that [etc.]. |
e. colloq. A lever mounted on the floor or on the steering column of a motor vehicle, which controls the gears or such devices as horn, indicators, lights, windscreen wipers, etc.
| 1964 Road & Track Jan. 22/2 The gears are selected by an odd curved floor stalk which fouls the passenger seat but they go in all right. 1972 Country Life 15 June 1577/2 Steering-column stalks look after the windscreen washer and wiper. 1977 Daily Tel. 19 Jan. 12/6, I liked the cloth-trimmed seats and the control stalks on the steering column in place of the old rocker switches on the fascia. |
6. A slender upright support; the stem of a wine-glass.
| a 1864 Hawthorne Amer. Note-Bks. (1879) II. 88 Old drinking-glasses, with tall stalks. 1882 J. G. Phillip in L. Shaw's Hist. Moray I. 202 It is a chalice or cup [of the Bronze Period]... Its great peculiarity was that it had neither handle nor stalk. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 72 The teeth rise on stalks from the body of the escape wheel. |
† 7. Sc. Some appendage to a halter. Obs.
| 1497 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 328 Item, for ane doubil helter with tua stalkis. 1501 Ibid. II. 29, ij..heltir stalkis. |
8. Iron-founding. (See quot.)
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Stalk, an iron rod armed with spikes, forming the nucleus of a core. |
9. Arch. (See quot.)
| 1842 Gwilt Archit. Gloss., Stalk, an ornament in the Corinthian capital, which is sometimes fluted, and resembles the stalk of a plant; from it spring the volutes and helices. |
10. attrib. as stalk-like adj.; stalk-borer U.S., the larva of a moth, Gortyna nitela, destructive to plants; stalk-cutter U.S., an implement for cutting old maize stalks in the ground; stalk-eyed a., having the eye at the end of a stalk, podophthalmate; stalk-fruited a. = pedunculate a.; † stalk-legged a., long-legged, spindle-shanked; stalk-puller, an implement for pulling cotton and hemp stalks from the ground; stalk switch, a switch in the form of a stalk or lever mounted on the steering column of a motor vehicle (see sense 5 e above).
| 1885 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) II. 451 The *stalk-borer. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stalk-cutter. |
| 1853 T. Bell (title) A history of the British *stalk-eyed Crustacea. |
| 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools App. 68 The old English Oak, or *Stalk-fruited Oak (Quercus robur or Quercus pedunculata), in which the acorns grow on stalks. |
| 1659 Torriano, Fuscello, a spindle-shank, or *stalk-legged fellow. |
| 1839–47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 678/1 The crura cerebri are seen..to enter *stalk-like, into the inferior surface of the cerebral hemispheres. 1888 Rutley Rock-forming Min. 184 Stalk-like or reedy forms are likewise of frequent occurrence. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stalk-puller. |
| 1976 Evening Post (Nottingham) 15 Dec. 10/8 *Stalk switches, within easy reach of fingers on the wheel, control the lights, wipers, wash and flasher, also horn and direction indicators. |
Add: [5.] f. In a motor vehicle: a flexible arm holding the mounting by which a seat-belt latch is secured.
| 1974 Motoring Which? Oct. 133/2 [The] safety belts didn't fit very well. The centre stalk was too long—it could rest at the side of your stomach. 1988 Daily Tel. 14 Oct. 3/2 When he examined a Datsun car,..he unscrewed the console between the two stalks for the seat belts and several driving licences fell out. |
▪ II. stalk, n.2
(stɔːk)
Also 5–7 stalke, 7 stauk.
[f. stalk v.]
1. An act of stalking game.
| c 1450 in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1909) iii. 53 A Stalke of ffostersse. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. xxi. 764 They were shoters and coude wel kylle a dere bothe at the stalke & at the trest. 1621 Markham Fowling viii. 53 Also you must obserue in the Stalke to turne that side [of the stalking⁓horse] euer vpon the Fowle which is plaine without splents. 1873 G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere x. 83 A careful stalk might have brought a shooter within shot. 1885 W. H. Russell in Harper's Mag. Apr. 770/1 There may be a deer drive or a stalk at Glenmuick. 1907 J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo xx. 225 My stalk was crowned with success, the beautiful animal being bagged without much trouble. |
b. attrib., as † stalk-hound.
| 1663 Killigrew Pars. Wedd. iv. i, A pox upon them for a couple of Stauk-hounds; have they killed at last? |
2. A striding gait; a stately or pompous mode of walking.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 26 An vgly feend,..The which with monstrous stalke behind him stept, And euer as he went, dew watch vpon him kept. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. iv, Leave him not so much as a looke, an eye, a stalke, or an imperfect oth, to expresse himselfe by. 1694 Addison Greatest Brit. Poets 56 Milton next, with high and haughty stalks, Unfetter'd in majestick numbers walks. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 179 ¶4 The sprightly trip, the stately stalk, and the lofty mien. 1787–89 Wordsw. Even. Walk 242 Then issuing often with unwieldy stalk, They [the swans] crush with broad black feet their flowery walk. 1869 Lowell Study Wind., Gard. Acquaint. (1871) 11 Their [the crow-blackbirds'] port is grave, and their stalk across the turf as martial as that of a second-rate ghost in Hamlet. |
▪ III. stalk, v.1
(stɔːk)
Also 4–7 stalke, 6 stawk, 7 staulke, 7, 9 dial. stauk.
[ME. stalke:—OE. *stealcian (implied in bistealcian = sense 1 and stealcung stalking vbl. n.):—prehistoric *stalkōjan, frequentative f. *stal- (:*stel-, see steal v.). Sense 4, which first appears in the 16th c., is perh. due to association with stalk n.1; cf. Florio 1611, ‘Fuscello, a stub, a sprig, a stalk..also spindle shankes or stalkeing legges’; also Norw. stelk, Icel. stelkur, a long-legged bird, the redshank.]
† 1. intr. To walk softly, cautiously, or stealthily.
In quot. a 1300 either refl. or with dative of the subject.
| [c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives xxxii. 40 Hinguar færlice swa swa wulf on lande bestalcode and þa leode sloh. c 1000: see stalking vbl. n.] a 1300 Cursor M. 3601 Esau..Ga lok þi tacle be puruaid, And faand to stalk þe sa nere Þat þou mai drep me sum dere. c 1300 K. Horn 1129 (Laud) He lokede in eche halke; Sey he nowere stalke Ayol hys trewe felawe. a 1320 Sir Tristrem 2578 Tristrem and þe quen Stalked to her play. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2728 Þan hiȝed þei hem to þe hauen..And stalkeden ful stilly þer stoden fele schippes. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 519 Tho gan I stalke softly hym by-hynde. a 1375 How to hear Mass 530 in Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 507 Whon he [sc. the priest] haþ waschen..Priueliche and stille he stalkes To his Auter aȝeyn. a 1380 Eufrosyne 390 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 178, I stunte, I stonde, vnstabli I stalke. c 1400 Beryn 282 Madam! wol ye stalk pryuely into the garden to se the herbis grow. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 472/1 Stalkyn..serpo. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xix. 243 He cam stylly stalkyng behynde the dwerf and plucked hym fast vnder his arme. c 1530 Crt. of Love 1030 And stalking soft with easy pase, I saw About the king ther stonden environ, Attendaunce, Diligence,..and many oon. 1587 Turberv. Trag. Tales (1837) 30 There stalkte he on, as softe as foote could tread. |
† b. said of an animal. Obs.
| 1456 Sir G. Haye Law of Arms (S.T.S.) 234 Quhen he herd ony wilde beste stalkand besyde him. |
2. † To go stealthily to, towards (an animal) for the purpose of killing or capturing it (obs.). Hence, to pursue game by the method of stealthy approach, esp. by the use of a stalking-horse or of some device for concealing oneself from the view of the hunted animal.
| a 1400 King & Hermit 321 Now, Crystes blyssing haue sych a frere, That þus canne ordeyn our soper, And stalke vnder þe wode bowe. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 21 His bowe he toke in hand toward þe deere to stalke. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 11 That no person from hensforth stauke or cause eny other person to stalke with eny boussh or bestys to eny Deere. 1570 Levins Manip. 16/13 To stalke, venari. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 193 Lette him..carrye his hawke unhooded..stawking towardes them untill he have gotten reasonably neare them. 1621 Markham Fowling 55 To stalke with a Horse where no Horses liue or are bred..is absurde and losse of labor. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxv. 141 One vnderneath his Horse, to get a shoot doth stalke. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 32 Thus shrowding his body in the skinne [of a deer] by stalking, he approacheth the Deere. 1815 Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xiii, Awhile their route they silent made, As men who stalk for mountain-deer. 1819 Sporting Mag. V. 118 A gamekeeper, who may be stalking, which is going behind a horse, whose head is kept down that he may appear to be grazing. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting iii. 77, I came up with the troop, stalked in upon them, and shot a fine young bull. 1907 J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo vi. 67 The roars completely ceased, and we knew that they [the lions] were stalking for their prey. |
| fig. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 96 O I, stalke on, stalke on, the foule sits. I did neuer thinke that Lady would haue loued any man. 1603 B. Jonson Sejanus iii. ii, His franke tongue Being lent the raines, will take away all thought Of malice, in your course against the rest. We must keepe him to stalke with. 1647 J. C[leveland] Char. Lond.-Diurn. 5 He stalkes with Essex, and shoots under his belly. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. i. §9 As well then may an Atheist say..that religion is nothing but a design, because men may make it stalke to their private ends. 1692 R. L'Estrange Josephus, Antiq. xvii. vii. (1733) 462 To get the Reputation of a tender and dutiful Son..and so, to stalk under that Cloak, up to the King himself. |
† b. trans. ? To involve by cunning devices, inveigle. Obs. rare—1.
| 1626 in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 269 By the Artifices of the said Duke of Buckingham..the said Earl hath been insensibly involved and stauked into the troubles he is now in. |
3. trans. a. To pursue (game) by stealthy approach. to stalk down: to follow or track (an animal) stealthily until one comes within range.
| 1823 Scott Peveril xxv, And for shooting him from behind a wall, it is cruelly like to stalking a deer. 1845 Zoologist III. 971 He immediately proposed to a friend to get a horse and stalk them [wild swans]. 1847 Marryat Childr. New Forest iv, I intend to buy you a gun, that you may learn to stalk deer yourself. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. vii. (1873) 178 No animal is more difficult to stalk than the giraffe. 1907 J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo ii. 25 Lions always stalk their prey in complete silence. Ibid. xxvii. 309 We dismounted and stalked them [the eland] carefully through the long grass. |
| transf. and fig. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes II. 68 As he was pursuing the deer, she stalked his lordship. 1861 ― Philip ix, Mrs. Matcham's girl fished for Captain Woolcomb last year in Scotland,..and stalked him to Paris. 1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Nov. 5/2 Their [sc. torpedo boats'] special function is to stalk ironclads at night time. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 188 One would hardly care to make a study of animal photography with a larger-sized apparatus than 1/1-plate. To stalk a flock of sheep with a 15 × 12..would..be worse than futile. 1903 Morley Gladstone (1905) I. iii. viii. 435 Whigs and Peelites..were all ready at last to stalk down their crafty quarry. |
b. To go through (a tract of country) stalking game.
| 1860 G. H. K. in Galton Vac. Tour. (1861) 122 The hills I am going to stalk are under sheep. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 211 The troopers, deciding to stalk the bush on foot,..passed..silently through the trees. |
4. intr. To walk with stiff, high, measured steps, like a long-legged bird. Usually with disparaging notion, implying haughtiness, sullenness, indifference to one's surroundings, or the like. Also † to stalk it.
In dialect use, the predominant notion is often that of ungainliness.
| 1530 Palsgr. 732/1, I stalke, I go softly and make great strides, je vas a grans pas. He stalketh lyke a crane. c 1535 Redford Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 8 Yt is he playne That thus bold doth make hym Wythowt my lycence To stalke by my doore. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. Epil. 21 The elder sorte, go stately stalking on. 1591 H. Smith Pride Nabuch. 4 Then was hee stalking in his galleries, and thinking what sinne should be next. 1609 B. Jonson Sil. Wom. iv. i, Others that will stalke i' their gait like an Estrich. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 491 Who stalking high upon stilts, apply their minds to grasing, fishing and fowling. 1612 Benvenuto's Passenger i. iv. 317 He replied that it was they, which there stalke it,..with Ruffes, and blacke apparrell. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 402 About them round A Lion now he [Satan] stalkes with fierie glare. 1695 Blackmore Pr. Arth. viii. 656 Like one of Anak's mighty Sons he stalk'd. a 1700 Evelyn Diary June 1645, The noblemen stalking with their ladys on choppines. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. x. 540 A soldier of unusual size..stalkt about on the parapet. 1768 Beattie Minstr. i. xxxix, The whistling ploughman stalks afield. 1787 Grose Prov. Gloss. L 3 b, Cambridgeshire camels... Some have supposed this term to have originated from the Fen-men, stalking through the marshes on their stilts. 1815 Scott Guy M. viii, The Dominie..might be seen stalking about with a mathematical problem in his head, and his eye upon a child of five years old. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 343 It was remembered but too well how the dragoons had stalked into the peasant's cottage, cursing and damning him, themselves, and each other at every second word. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds 421 Stauk, to walk in an awkward manner, unmindful of appearances. 1906 Sir F. Treves Highways Dorset xi. 169 Its arched doorway, where pikemen stalked on guard. |
| fig. 1710 Addison Whig-Exam. No. 4 ¶5 It stalks upon hard words and rattles through polysyllables. 1852 Hawthorne Grandfather's Chair ii. iii. (1879) 85 One urchin shall hereafter..stalk gravely through life. 1864 D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 264 Why should my fancy go stalking through that great Rubens Museum? |
b. said of a bird or animal.
| 1600 Maydes Metam. i. in Bullen O. Pl. (1882) I. 113 Marke the Deare how they begin to stalke; When each..Pricks vp his head and bears a Princely minde. 1601 Holland Pliny x. xxiii. I. 281 These Cranes..will..run the round with their long shankes staulking full untowardly. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 383 The Mother Lion..Scours o'er the Plain;..Demanding Rites of Love; she sternly stalks. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 195 A vagrant deer stalking like a shadow across the opening. 1825 Scott Betrothed xxiii, No heron was seen stalking on the usual haunts of the bird. 1865 Livingstone Zambesi iv. 99 The stately stepping Marabout stalks slowly along the almost stagnant channels. |
c. often said of ghosts, and fig. of quasi-personified maleficent agencies, as pestilence, famine, etc.
| a 1593 Marlowe tr. 1st Bk. Lucan 570 Fowle Erinnis stalkt about the wals, Shaking her snakie haire and crooke pine With flaming Toppe. 1656 Cowley Misc., On death W. Hervey 22 As sullen Ghosts stalk speechless by Where their hid Treasures ly. 1719 Young Busiris i. i, Illustrious shades! who nightly stalk around The tyrant's couch. a 1796 Burns Tam Glen vii, The last Halloween I was waukin My drouket sark-sleeve, as ye ken; His likeness cam up the house staukin—The very grey breeks o' Tam Glen! 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey i. ix, That wild spirit of speculation which is now stalking abroad. 1846 Mill Diss. & Disc. (1859) II. 306 Ate..is represented as a gigantic figure, who stalks forth furiously, diffusing ruin. 1850 Hawthorne Scarlet L. xiii, None so self-devoted as Hester, when pestilence stalked through the town. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars v. 226 The plague was stalking grimly up and down the land. |
d. trans. To march proudly through (a country, etc.). Also quasi-trans. with advb. accusative.
| 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Tri. i. xlvii, Two bloudy sunnes stalking the duskie sphear. 1612 J. Taylor (Water P.) Sculler D 4 b, With stately gate the peopled Burse he stalkes. 1742 Collins Ode to Fear 12 Danger..Who stalks his round, an hideous form! 1841 W. H. Ainsworth Old St. Paul's i. i, Like a hideous phantom stalking the streets at noon-day. |
▸ trans. To harass or persecute (a person, esp. a public figure) with unwanted, obsessive, and usually threatening attention over an extended period of time. Cf. stalker n. Additions.
| 1981 Los Angeles Times 10 July vi. 15/1 A highly publicized..theatrical production starring TV trash goddess Morgan Fairchild..as anchorwoman Jaime Fremont, who is stalked by an obsessed photographer. 1990 Daily Mail 10 Mar. 13/5 A fan..stalked..[the] star for 18 months, writing 200 letters threatening: ‘I'll get you’. 2000 Punch (Nassau, Bahamas) 11 Dec. 6/1 A man has pleaded guilty to stalking his ex-girlfriend and even confessed to following her to her classes at Bermuda College. |
▪ IV. stalk, v.2
(stɔːk)
[f. stalk n.1]
1. intr. To put forth stalks. rare—1.
| 1666 J. Davies Hist. Caribbee Isles 5 There is not strength enough left in the root to force it to staulk and knit in the ear. |
2. trans. To remove the stalks from (fruit).
| 1902 Daily Chron. 5 July 8/4 Stalk three-quarters of a pound of fine fresh fruit, rub them through a hair sieve [etc.]. |