▪ I. staple, n.1
(ˈsteɪp(ə)l)
Forms: 1, 4 stapol, 1–5 stapul, stapel, 3 stapil, stapple, 5 stapill, stapyl(l, 6 stapylle, 5–6 stapulle, 6 stappil, 4, 7 stable, 7 Sc. staiple, 4– staple.
[OE. stapol str. masc. (a wk. form stapole is doubtful) corresponds to OFris. stapul, stapel stem or visible part of a tooth, also block for executions (WFris. steapel, NFris. stabel heap), OS. stapal, stapel, candle, small tub (MLG. stapel pillar, post, candle, block for executions, platform, stocks for shipbuilding, heap; hence MHG. and mod.G. stapel stake, beam, stocks for shipbuilding, and prob. Sw. stapel, Da. stabel in the same senses), MDu. stapel foundation, support, stem of a plant, heap (mod.Du. stapel leg of a chair, stocks, heap), OHG. staffal (gl. ‘basis’; the fem. staffala, mod.G. staffel step, rung of a ladder, is prob. a separate formation), ON. stǫpull steeple, tower, once pillar:—OTeut. *stapulo-z.
The various applications of the word in the Teut. langs. seem traceable to a general sense of ‘something supporting’; the root *stap- is prob. identical with that of step n.1 and v.
In addition to the sense 1 below, OE. seems to have had those of foundation (gl. batis, perh. error for basis) and steps or raised platform in front of an outer door (see Beowulf 926 and the gloss ‘stapel, patronus’, prob. for petronus: cf. F. perron), but these did not survive into ME. Sense 2 is not found in continental Teut., and its evolution is not easy to explain; the identity of the word is not certain.]
1. † a. A post, pillar, column (of wood, stone, metal). Obs.
| Beowulf 2718 Þa stanboᵹan stapulum fæste. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 12 Staplas [glosses columbas mistaken for columnas]. a 1000 Andreas 1062 Oð ðæt he ᵹemette..standan stræte neah stapul ærenne. a 1000 Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 205/5 Cione, stapole. a 1300 Cursor M. 8288 Vnder þis tre..A stapul was o marbul grai. 13.. Seuyn Sages (W.) 201 Leues thai tok, sextene, Of iuy..Under ech stapel of his bed..four thai hid. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 273 But Edol, duke of Gloucestre, cauȝte a stable, [L. arrepto palo: v.rr. pale, stake] and defended hym manliche. |
† b. Used for
steeple.
Obs. rare—1.
Perh. an error; but
cf. ON. stǫpull.
| 1470–1 in Oxf. Stud. Soc. & Legal Hist. (1914) IV. 225 In Bylddyng of..the Chyrche Stapill in the Town of Latton. |
c. Mining. A pillar of coal left as a temporary support for a superincumbent mass.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts etc. 979 As a further precaution staples of coal, about 10 inches square, are left. |
2. a. A short rod or bar of iron or other metal bent into the form of a
U or of three sides of a rectangle, and pointed at the ends, to be driven into a post, plank, wall, or other surface, in order to serve as a hold for a hasp, hook, or bolt to secure a door or box, or as an attachment for a rope or the like. Also applied to other contrivances of similar shape or function, as the box or case into which the bolt of a lock is shot.
For
hasp and staple (Law), see
hasp n. 1 d.
| 1295 MS. Acc. Exch. K.R. 5/8 m. 10 Et .ij. s. ix. d. in stipendiis Hugonis Fabri pro stapples et hespes fabricandis. c 1340 Nominale (Skeat) 467 Et graps et appenduz Stapul and haspe. Ibid. 471 Sere veroil et cerrure Barre slot and stapul. 1344–5 MS. Acc. Exch. K.R. 492/24 Facientis unum haspe et unum stapel pro hostio stabuli. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2181 Þe henges boþe barste & þe stapel þar-with out sprong. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1081 Of ilka bild,..barred was þe ȝatis, Stoken stifly with-out with staplis & cheynes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 472/2 Stapylle of a schyttynge (v.r. stapul), stapellum. 1485 Nottingham Rec. III. 231 A newe staple of iren to þe same yeate. 1495 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 150 Staples & clampes of yron ffor a carte. 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 12 §3 The Sergeant..shall bringe to the saide place of execucion a blocke withe a betill a staple and cordes to bynde the saide hande vpon the blocke. a 1552 Leland Itin. VII. 56 Men alyve have sene Rynges and Staples yn the Walles as yt had bene Stayes or Holdes for Shyppes. 1560 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 96 A stapulle and a haspe for the..chest. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. Prol. 17 With massie Staples And corresponsiue and fulfilling Bolts. 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 12 Grummets, and staples for all yeards. 1643 Lightfoot Glean. Exod. 41 Staples of Gold were fastned in every planke. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys.-Mech. Proem 14 A small Iron nut,..which is fastened by two staples..to the under side of the board. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 28 You must with square Staples, just fit to contain the Bolt with an easie play, fasten these staples, by rivetting them with the Bolt within them..to the Main-plate. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 462/1 The Crown Stable, that to which the Clapper [of the Bell] is hung. Ibid. iv. v. (Roxb.) 309/2 A demy Ape..holding a stable by the tanges with both his hands, Sable. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 46 Her Rudder-Irons Stirrups, Staples, etc. 1725 Pope Odyss. xxi. 48 The bolt..Forsakes the staple as she pulls the ring. 1746 Watson in Phil. Trans. XLIV. 714 Cork'd, with a Staple of small Wire running through each Cork into the Water. 1810 Shelley Zastrozzi i. Pr. Wks. (1888) I. 5 His limbs..were fixed by immense staples to the flinty floor. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 152 Staples, crooked fastenings made of copper, from 6 to 12 inches long, with a jagged hook at each end. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola i. xvi, Fastening the old bridle..to an iron staple in the wall. 1884 Manch. Exam. 6 Oct. 5/4 The deceased was drawing the staples by which the ladders were held. 1898 M. Hewlett Forest Lovers xxx, A girdle made of bright steel in which was a staple. |
| fig. 1809–10 Coleridge Friend (ed. 3) III. 118 The uneducated..talker overlooks all mental relations... Hence the nearer the..incidents in time and place, the more distant, disjointed [etc.]..will they appear in his narrative..and this from the want of a staple or starting-post in the narrator himself. 1827 Hare Guesses Ser. ii. (1873) 324 A philosopher..must be a staple firmly and deeply fixt—in the adamantine walls of Truth. |
† b. A clasp or fastening for armour.
Obs. [
Cf. stapled ppl. a.
quot. 13...]
| a 1420 Aunturs of Arthur 591 (Douce MS.) Stiþe stapeles [v.r. stapuls] of stele þey strike done seiȝte. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 382 Thair freikis fell with mony forcie flap, Quhill ruvis raif and steill stapillis out lap. |
c. A snout-ring.
| 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 181/2 Rings, or Staples to put into their [swine's] Noses to keep them from Rooting. 1875 [see snout-ring s.v. snout n.1 7]. |
d. A piece of thin wire (characteristically shaped in the form of three sides of a rectangle), driven through papers, etc., and clinched to bind them.
| 1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 540/2 Patent Staple Presses (For Fastening Papers &c.)..Wire Staples. Size 1/4 inch, per 1000 0/6. 1898 G. B. Shaw Let. 4 Mar. (1972) II. 11 Come along & bring some long staples (5/8{pp} will do) with you. 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 349/1 The Self-Feeding Automatic Staple Press. Holds 25 staples which travel automatically. Staples are in strips of 25, as shown in illustration. 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 369/3 The ‘Longdon’ Combined Stapler..only one staple can pass at a time. 1940 Brit. Stationer Ann. 2 (Advt.), Ace Stapling Machines..Staples: 1/4 in...7/2 per box of 5,000. 1967 New Yorker 15 July 26/3, I..dropped into a stationery store..looking for a mechanism of sorts with which to run a staple into my thumb. 1981 H. Engel Ransom Game (1982) iii. 21, I wondered how could I possibly discuss anything with a man who called staples Bostitch pins. |
3. a. The upright body of a hand printing press.
| 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 208 A is the upright body of the press, called the staple. |
b. Mus. A metal tube on to which the double reed of a wind instrument is tied.
| 1880 Grove Dict. Mus. II. 486/2 It [sc. the oboe] is usually made in three pieces, a top, bottom, and bell joints, to which is added a short metal tube, the staple, on which the reed..is attached by means of silk. 1908 Ibid. (ed. 2) IV. 42/2 The bassoon reed is placed directly upon the ‘crook’ of the instrument, but the oboe reed is built up upon a small tube or ‘staple’. 1953 E. Rothwell Oboe Technique 49 The part of the cane from the tip downwards which has been scraped and thinned with the knife after tying the cane on the staple, is known as the ‘scrape’ (or sometimes as the ‘lay’). 1976 D. Munrow Instr. Middle Ages & Renaissance i. 8/4 The [shawm] player presses his lips against a metal disc at the base of the staple, taking the entire reed inside his mouth. Ibid. vi. 39/3 (caption) Set of modern rackett reeds mounted on their staples. |
4. attrib. and
Comb. (sense 2), as
staple-driver,
staple-fastener,
staple-pin,
staple-punch;
staple-headed,
staple-shaped adjs.;
staple-fashion,
staple-wise advs.: also
† staple-bar, ? a bar to which a staple is fixed;
staple gun, a hand-held device for driving staples home; hence (hyphened) as
v. trans.;
staple isinglass, isinglass in staple-shaped pieces;
staple-knee Naut. (see
quot.);
† staple press = stapler2;
staple-ring = sense 2 c;
staple-vice, a bench-vice.
| 1339–40 Ely Sacrist Rolls (1907) II. 96 Item solut. Johanni Amyot pro *stapolbarris fabricandis de iiijxx peciis ferri Dni. pro pec. iijd. {pstlg}1. 0s. 3d. 1399 Ms. Acc. Exch. K.R. 473/11 m. 3 Pro .viij. Soudletles .ij Stapulbarres pro fenestris eiusdem noue domus. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Staple⁓driver, an instrument for driving the staples in window⁓blinds. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 116/3 Staple Driver, for binding books, papers, pamphlets, etc...staple is placed in holder, driven to place. |
| 1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuilding ii. 42 The angle-irons on the upper edge are forged *staple fashion. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Staple Fastener, a spring punch for driving and clinching a staple against an anvil block beneath. |
| 1960 G. Lewis Handbk. Crafts 350 A *staple gun can be useful, but is not essential. 1975 Harpers & Queen May 128/3 Looks like some faggot decorator went nuts in here with a staple gun. 1977 J. Fraser Hearts Ease ix. 107 The heavy squad..had staple-gunned plastic sheets to cover the hole. |
| 1819 Fosbroke Hist. Glouc. 119 Massy round Columns, with *staple-headed arches. |
| 1879 Simmonds Commerc. Products Sea 243 Isinglass..drawn out in a serpentine manner into the form of a heart, horseshoe, or lyre (long and short *staple) between three pegs. 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Rec. Ser. ii. 355/1 The isinglass comes into commerce under the names of..‘staple’, ‘book’, ‘pipe’,..and other designations, according to its form. |
| 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 295 Standard-knees... These..are also called *Staple-knees, or Staple-lodging knees. |
| 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 145 It has a *staple pin at its inner end. |
| 1895, 1907 *Staple press [see sense 2 d above]. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. s.v., The *staple-punch has two points, and is used to prick blind-rods and slats for the reception of the staples which connect them. |
| 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4377/4 A black Mare.., wring'd with a *staple Ring. |
| 1874 Thearle Naval Archit. §258. 275 An intercostal *staple-shaped angle-iron. |
| 1881 Young Ev. Man his own Mech. §280 The best black *staple vices are sold, according to weight, at 7d per lb. Mod. Tool-maker's Price-list, Vices. Staple Leg Vices. |
| 1596 L. Mascall Bk. Cattle, Hogs 275 Make it sharpe at both ends, and bow it *staple-wise with two corners nigh an inch wide. |
▪ II. staple, n.2 (
ˈsteɪp(ə)l)
Also 5–6
stapull,
stapyll, 6
stapul, 5–6
stapill, 8
stapple. Also 5
estapell,
estaple.
[a. OF. estaple fem. emporium, mart (mod.F. étape halting-place):—med.L. stapula, also staplus, ad. MLG. stapol, stapel: see staple n.1 The (M)
LG., (M)
Du. stapel, and hence the G. and
Sw. stapel,
Da. stabel, have the sense ‘emporium, mart’, in addition to the senses mentioned under the preceding
n. It is, however, uncertain whether this sense was developed in
MLG., or whether it originated in
OF., and was thence adopted into
MLG. The precise relation of this sense to the other senses of the
Teut. word is also uncertain. It has been usually held to have been developed from the sense ‘heap, pile’. This is not impossible; but, on the other hand, in the Frankish laws
regis stapulus meant the place where the king or his representative administered judgement; the original notion may have been that of ‘raised platform’. The transition would be easy from the Frankish sense of
regis stapulus to that of the ‘king's staple’ for the collection of duties on merchandise.]
1. a. A town or place, appointed by royal authority, in which was a body of merchants having the exclusive right of purchase of certain classes of goods destined for export; also, the body of merchants so privileged. Now only
Hist. The English word has not been found earlier than 1423; the
AF. estaple and the
Anglo-L. stapula, however, occur in statutes and official documents from the reign of
Edw. II onwards, and these contain evidence that the institution of the staple was of older date. Each staple had a mayor and constables, appointed by the king, and in early times distinct from the municipal authorities, though latterly the mayor of some boroughs was
ex officio mayor of the staple. At various times the chief staple was oversea, usually at Bruges or Calais; from about 1390 to 1558 it was at Calais, which is often called ‘The Staple’. There were also staples in many important towns of England, Wales, and Ireland, the list of which varied greatly at different periods.
Statute of the Staple: the ordinance 27
Edw. III (1353), which established staples in various English towns, and at Carmarthen, Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Drogheda, and contained regulations for their form of government and the conduct of their business. (For
statute of the staple in another application, see
statute staple.)
| 1423 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 249/1 They may bey Wolle..atte the Stapull of Calais. 1429 Ibid. IV. 359/2 And yat ye Maire of ye Staple for the tyme beyng, have power..to make due serch. 1450 Ibid. V. 189/1 Nygh to oure Staple there [sc. the Palace at Westminster]. c 1450 Brut ccxxix. 305 In þe same ȝere þe Kyng reuoked..þe staple of wolles out of Flaundres into Engelond. 1473 Paston Lett. III. 97 To the Mayre, Lieutenant, and felaship of the staple. 1480 Cely Papers (Camden) 33 George Cely merchand of the estapell at Calleys. 1481 Ibid. 63 Merchant of the estaple. ? 1482 Ibid. 130 Bryn[g]yng my ij oblygacyons of the Stapyll to Cales. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xx. 18 The kyng..gaue hym an hundred marke sterlynge, yerely to be payed out of the Staple of the wolles in London. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 173 The caryage out of wolle to the stapul ys a grete hurte to the pepul of Englond. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 131 Ther [in Ghent] was the staple of woolles, tynne, leade and other merchaundise. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 169 In the xix yere of this king, the staple of woolles was kept at Sandwiche, which afterwarde was kept at Caleys as long as it was Englishe, but now it is holden at Bridges in Flaunders. 1577 Holinshed Hist. Eng. II. 519/2 He had borrowed a great summe of monie of the Marchants of the Staple. Ibid. 1771/1 Edmonde Hall one of the Conestables of the Staple. 1599 N.C. Wills (Surtees) II. 185 The worshipfull companie of marchauntes of the staple of Englande. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 540 The Staple, as they tearme it, that is, the Mart, of Wooll, Leather, Lead, etc. 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 196 You ayme at no Monopoly, No priuate staples, but desire to sell,..Your Ware in publique places. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 50 This City is the Staple of all Merchandise, excepting Rhenish wine, for which by old priviledge Dorte is the Staple. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 110 Hodie 2 vice lecta Billa for the merchantes of the Staple. 1650 Jer. Taylor Serm. for Yr. 165 By weight and measure of the staple. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvi. 411 The system of the staple was..a combination of the principle of the guild and of the royal privilege of establishing fairs and markets. 1890 Gross Gild Merch. I. 144 It is evident that the staple was primarily a fiscal organ of the crown, facilitating the collection of the royal customs. It also ensured the quality of the goods exported by providing a machinery for viewing and marking them. |
b. † (
a) A town or country which is the principal market or entrepôt for some particular class of merchandise (
obs.). (
b) A commercial centre, a chief place of business in a country or district. (Now somewhat
arch.)
| 1436 Libel Eng. Policy in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 160 Saffron, quiksilver..Is into Flaundres shypped fulle craftylye, Unto Bruges, as to here staple fayre. Ibid. 162 The lytelle londe of Flaundres is But a staple to other londes..And alle that groweth in Flaundres..May not a moneth ffynde hem mete of brede. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. p. xxix/1 [Punctuation corrected.] There groeth much peper, and the properest stapell therof, that kingdom of Colen, is xxiiij myles from there. 1612 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) Apr. 251 In time this Kingdom will become the staple of those easterne commodities, from whence they may be dispersed into France, Germaine, [etc.] 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 224 They enjoy also Malaca, which..is..the staple of the Traffique..of the East Ocean. c 1645 Howell Lett. iv. i. (1655) I. 167 The Spaniards notwithstanding they are the Masters of the Staple of Jewels, stood astonish'd at the beuty of these. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. i. 315 God intended not Jerusalem for a staple of trade but for a Royal Exchange of Religion. 1723 Pres. State Russia i. 117 Novgorod..was comprehended in the League of the Hans-Towns, and was the Staple of the inferior Towns. 1737 G. Smith Cur. Relat. I. i. 81 The rest is sold to the People or Merchants at Ucienjen, this being the greatest Staple for Porcelain in all China. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. xiii. I. 380 That the city of Nisibis might be established for the place of mutual exchange, or, as we should formerly have termed it, for the staple of trade, between the two empires. 1836 Thirlwall Greece II. xii. 202 The position..was well adapted for a great staple of commerce between the Thracian tribes..and the Greek cities. 1850 W. Irving Mahomet iii. (1853) 10 Its seaports..were the staples of an opulent and widely extended Commerce. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vii. v. II. 293 Old Nürnberg..Trading Staple of the German world in old days. |
c. fig.| 1594 Lyly Mother Bombie ii. v, A tauerne is the Randeuous, the Exchange, the staple for good fellowes. 1621 Donne Serm. xv. (1640) 152 There is a Trade driven, a Staple established betweene Heaven and earth;..Thither have we sent our flesh, and hither hath he sent his Spirit. 1626 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. ii, Tho. O Sir, a staple of newes! Or the New Staple, which you please. P. Iv. What's that? Fas. An..Office set vp... P. Iv. For what? Tho. To enter all the Newes, Sir, o' the time. c 1645 Howell Lett. i. v. (1655) I. 9 This City of Amsterdam, though she be a great Staple of News, yet I can impart none unto you at this time. 1647 Ward Simple Cobler 9 That Country which hath been the Staple of Truth to all Christendome. 1699 T. C[ockman] tr. Tully's Offices (1706) 236 Since you are gone as 'twere to a Staple and Mart of good Literature. a 1718 Prior Engl. Padlock 62 A Staple of Romance and Lies. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 366 Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. |
† d. A ‘factory’ or authorized place of trade for merchants of a foreign country.
Obs.| 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 61 Meluin is a little and faire City,..and at this time grew rich by the English Merchants having their staple in the same. 1634 W. Haig Let. in J. Russell Haigs (1881) 468 Mr. John Forbes, a minister..of the English that are about their staple in that place. 1668 Sir W. Temple Lett. i. (1699) 8 Attempts of removing the Scotch Staple from Teweet to Dort. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 25 The English Factory..being under the Tutelage of the Natives, as also are the Portugals and Flemmings (who each have here their Staples). 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 41 This original factory and staple of the German merchants, vulgarly called ‘The Steelyard’ (Stahlhof) still stands on the banks of the Thames. 1892 R. W. Cochran-Patrick Mediæval Scot. vii. 133 The establishment of the Scottish staple at Middleburgh in 1347 was followed by more cordial relations between Scotland and England. |
† 2. a. A dépôt or storehouse for provisions, war material, etc.
Obs.| 1523 St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 171 The Kinges Grace hathe prepared the power of the north parties to a great nomber, whiche..may..either invade or defende, as they shal be commaunded, and vitailles ordred in staples for that purpose. 1552 Edw. VI Jrnl. Lit. Rem. (Roxb.) II. 421 Duke Maurice toke..50 peces of ordinaunce, which he conveyed to Auspurg, for that toune he fortefied and made it his staple of provision. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 202/1 There must be choise made of some place, Citty or Towne, to make the Staple of Ammunition. |
b. A stock, quantity of provisions or material stored up.
Obs.| 1549 Thomas Hist. Italie 75 Hauyng suche a staple of tymber (whiche in the water within Th'arsenale hath lien a seasonyng, some .20. yere, some .40. some an .100. and some I wote not how longe). 1586 Hooker Holinshed's Chron. Irel. 165/2 That a storehouse be prouided alwais in the towne for a staple of vittels to be kept there at all times. 1603 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 118 In their Arsenal they continually maintaine two hundred gallies, and such a staple of timber, that for every day in the yeare, they are able to builde a newe galley. |
3. [Short for
staple-ware, etc. (see 4), and elliptical use of
staple a.] A staple commodity.
† a. An article of merchandise the trade in which is subjected to the regulations of the Staple.
Obs.| 1690 Child Disc. Trade (1698) 161 Except such species only as his Majesty and the Parliament shall think fit to make Staples, as suppose Colchester Bayes, Perpetuanoes, Cheanyes,..to be allowed the honour of a publick Seal, by which to be bought and sold here, and beyond seas, as if it were upon the publick faith of England. |
b. A principal industrial product of a country, town, or district;
occas. the commodity principally dealt in by a person or class of persons. Also, the principal or basic food on which a community lives.
| 1616 Capt. Smith Descr. New Eng. 10 The maine Staple..is fish. 1640 Howell Dodona's Grove 7 Corne, Wine, and Salt, her three rich staples doe so abound in her. 1733 P. Lindsay Interest Scot. 143 Linen is out Staple, &c. but it has been wofully neglected. 1789 Ann. Reg., Brit. & For. Hist. 167 Mr. Pitt introduced it [the subject] by observing that tobacco was now to be considered as the smuggler's staple. 1806 Gazetteer Scot. (ed. 2) 323 The manufacture of cotton..has long been the staple of this county. 1834 H. Martineau Demerara iii. 42 Sugar is our staple and sugar we must grow. 1840 Hood Up Rhine 163 Villages..built by some speculating timber-merchant, who found his staple quite a drug in the market. 1843 Prescott Mexico vii. ii. (1864) 424 The sugar-cane..formed a more desirable staple for the colony than its precious metals. 1883 Century Mag. Oct. 818/1 Barley is always a staple, and averages twenty bushels to the acre. 1883 Stubbs' Merc. Circular 8 Nov. 982/2 Grey shirtings show a falling-off..and..it is to be feared that the trade in this once flourishing staple will continue to decrease. 1912 Times 19 Dec. 19/2 Good returns should also be obtained from the cultivation of maize (which was the staple of Rhodesia). 1970 C. Furtado in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. ii. 33 In the case of exported staples, there occasionally appeared competitive productive areas which were better situated geographically or which had access to protected markets. 1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 113/1 Except for the staples and tea, tobacco and candy, there is no strong desire for non-Eskimo foods. Ibid. Oct. 21/1 It is only recently that human populations have come to depend heavily on a single cultivated plant staple for food. 1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 June 16/1 Much of this inflation can be attributed to a rise in the world price of oil and food staples. |
c. transf. and
fig. The thing chiefly ‘dealt in’; the principal object of employment, thought, or discourse. Sometimes (? with mixture of
staple n.3, sense 2) used for: The chief component element, the ‘substance’, ‘bulk’.
| 1826 Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 74/1 An unconquerable aversion to..that train of meteorological questions and answers which forms the great staple of polite English conversation. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xvi, The poultry..may perhaps be considered to have formed the staple of the entertainment. 1849 W. Irving Goldsmith xviii. 205 Conversation was the great staple there. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. x. 616 Events of this sort, though neglected by ordinary historians, are among the staff and staple of history. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. iv. 63 It may be said that action,..forms the staple of that part of the gesture-language. 1907 C. Hill-Tout Brit. N. Amer., Far West v. 100 These staples were everywhere supplemented by the flesh of other animals which varied with the habitat. |
4. attrib. (
Cf. staple a.) ‘of or pertaining to the Staple’ (sense 1), as
staple-court,
staple-register,
staple-roll,
staple seal; ‘that is a staple’ (senses 1, 1 b), as
staple place,
staple port,
staple town;
† staple-good = staple-ware;
† staple-hand Sc. (sense obscure:
mercats of stapillhand = ‘markets of staple-ware’);
staple-house, a warehouse where commodities chargeable with export duties were stored;
† staple-merchandise = staple-ware;
† staple rate, ? a price fixed by the Staple, a monopoly price; in
quot. fig.;
† staple-traffic, an organized branch of trade (
fig.);
† staple-ware(s, such goods as were the monopoly of the Staple (in England wool, woolfells, leather, lead, and tin).
| 1433 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm App. v. 296 In defraude of the courte..of Watirforde, or of the *staple courte of the Kynge. 1574 Ibid. 335 The Sergeants may arrest anny challendged in the Staple-court. |
| 1455 in Charters etc. Edin. (1871) 80 Ony merchandice that is *staple gude. 1482 Extracts Burgh Rec. Edin. (1869) I. 46 That na maner of stapill gudis of strangearis remane..langare in Leyth..than it may be cartit and brocht to the toun. 1593 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 797/2 Cum libertate..de lie paking, peilling, loising or laidning be sey of stapill guddis or wairis. 1811 P. Kelly Univ. Cambist II. 310 Staple goods, such as are sold at a staple. The term is however mostly aplied to goods that are not of a perishable nature, as wool, lead, &c. |
| 1364 in Reg. Episc. Brechinensis (Bannatyne Club) II. 380 Ane Inchibitioun for halding off mercats of *Stapillhand at Brechine and Fordoune. |
| 1876 F. Martin Hist. Lloyds i. 2 In their large *staple-house on the Thames..were stored the collections of raw produce..which England sent away to foreign countries. |
| 1721 Strype Eccl. Mem. II. 259 Paying no more..than for so much Goods of *Staple Merchandize as they shall..transport unto the Staple of Calais. |
| 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. iii. 322 Indeed Tyre,..was the *staple place which furnished it with fish. 1838 Murray's Handbk. N. Germ. 247 Coblenz..forms the natural staple place of the Rhine and Mosel wines. |
| 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. vi. 53 It [Aden] continued many Years after the *Stapple Port for the Red Sea Commerce. 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 378 The Staple-Port for Merchandize of the East. |
| a 1628 F. Grevil Cælica lxxviii, So States proue sicke, where toyes beare *Staple-rates. |
| 1483–4 Cely Papers (Camden) 147 Thys entercourse ys entryd in the *stappull Regester of old tyme. |
| 1890 Gross Gild Merch. I. 144 The *Staple Rolls in the Record Office. |
| 1482 Cely Papers (Camden) 114 Ther shall be made vj oblijgaschons under the *stapell seal. |
| 1617 Nottingham Rec. IV. 355 The matter of makinge this towne a *staple towne. 1756 Nugent tr. Montesquieu's Spirit Laws xxi. xi. (1758) II. 51 The barbarians obliged the Romans to establish staple-towns. 1908 Athenæum 14 Nov. 610/3 The Statute of the Staple, 1353,..established a number of Staple towns where the wools, &c., were to be weighed and sealed, the duty paid [etc.]. |
| a 1618 Sylvester All's not gold xii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 254 That Ignatian-Latian Colledge, Where..They study State and Stratagems; Making a *Staple-Trafick of it..To murther Kings, and mangle Realms. |
| 1432 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 417/2 Grete substaunce of marchaundises, nat *Staple ware, but other. 1587 Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 237 To transporte thair guidis and staple wairis to uthuris townis. 1720 Strype Stow's Surv. i. xxxi. I. 306/1 King James..incorporated himself into the Clothworkers: as men dealing in the Principal and Noblest Staple Wares of all these Islands, viz. Woollen Cloths. |
▪ III. staple, n.3 (
ˈsteɪp(ə)l)
Also 7
stapple.
[Of uncertain origin; perh. a back-formation from staple v.2 or stapler1, the sorting of wool according to quality being part of the business of the stapler.] 1. a. The fibre of any particular variety or sample of wool (in later use also of cotton, flax, or other material for textile processes) considered with regard to its length and fineness; a particular length and degree of fineness in the fibre of wool, cotton, etc.
| 1481 Cely Papers (Camden) 66 They causyd me to kep hyt [your new wool] iiij or v dayes and then the sayd the staple therof was to schoorte. c 1580 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) July 523 Theyr woolles beinge of so course a staple that it will not ronne in threde unles they mingle our woolles withall. 1596 L. Mascall Bk. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 200 Ye must see that ye buy no Ram nor other Sheepe that hath a thin staple, or small store of wooll. 1601 Holland Pliny viii. xlviii. I. 227 The wooll of Apulia is of a short staple, and specially in request for cloakes and mantles, and nothing else. 1610 W. Folkingham Feudigr. 9 Lemster Ore merits the preheminence (though it be short) for a purely-fine, soft and crisped Staple. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 9 To cutt of all the shaggie hairy woll..by which meanes they make them seeme more snodde and of a better stapple. 1675 Grew Anat. Plants (1682) 140 The Qualities..of the best Tow..are that the Staple be long, small, tough, and white. 1754 in 6th Rep. Dep. Kpr. Publ. Rec. App. ii. 128 An Engine..which will..lay the Harle or Staple of the Wool more straight and close than any Yarn yet produced. 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 389 Some difficulty might be expected to occur in adapting the rollers to different staples. 1861 Times 27 Sept., That straight staple and open fleece which the Lincoln long-wool grazier avoids. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 261/2 The staple of mohair is from five to six inches long. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-Farming 180 It is essential to the character of a good wool, that there should be an evenness of staple. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 323 The fibre from which these nets are made has a long staple. |
b. A lock of wool.
| 1805 J. Luccock Nat. Wool 134 In such coats the..staples separate easily from each other, and the wool dies in the bowl. 1884 M{supc}Laren Spinning (ed. 2) 15 This can be done..by pulling a staple out of the fleece. If it be a wether, the staple will come clean out without interfering to any extent with the surrounding staples; but if it be a hog, some of the fibres of the other staples will adhere to the bottom of the one being pulled. 1885 F. H. Bowman Struct. Wool Gloss., Staple, the lock of wool or hair which is formed by the aggregation of fibres in the fleece. |
c. Unmanufactured wool.
| 1885 Wool Trade Circular Jan., The situation as regards cross-bred staple has proved somewhat exceptional. 1897 Ibid., Jan., Though crossbreds were somewhat neglected, prices for merino staple rose 7½ per cent. Ibid., All grades of staple fell 10 per cent. in value. |
2. The fibre of which a thread or a textile fabric is composed. Hence
gen. the material of which anything is made. Also
fig.| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. i. 19 He draweth out the thred of his verbositie finer then the staple of his argument. 1682 Grew Anat. Plants Ep. Ded. 2 The Staple of the Stuff is so exquisitely fine, that no Silk-worm is able to draw any thing near so small a Thred. 1755 Phil. Trans. XLIX. 208 The substance [sc. a kind of paper]..appears to be of a coarser grain, a shorter staple, and of a much looser texture. 1824 Johnson Typogr. II. 644 Producing a good paper in appearance, from an inferior staple. 1831 G. R. Porter Silk Manuf. 206 Even when the injury occurring to the staple of the thread is less apparent. 1845–6 Trench Hulsean Lect. Ser. i. ii. 34 The staple out of which its whole web is woven. 1850 Merivale Rom. Emp. xxii. (1865) III. 40 Lucilius himself could not refrain from interweaving Greek words with the homely staple of his Latin style. 1882 A. Edwardes Ballroom Repent. I. 227 The coaching that teaches you how to find staple for conversation out of the slightest materials. |
3. The stratum of vegetable mould overlying the rock; a particular depth or quality of this.
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 70 A shallow grete or staple. Ibid. 263 The tops of such grass will be coarse and sour, as running to a length beyond what the staple of the ground can well carry. 1771 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 265 The general objection of farmers against ploughing up the dead earth, or going beyond what is called the staple; that is, that body of dark-coloured mould, which seems to be in part formed of rotten vegetables and animal substances. 1793 A. Young Agric. Sussex 10 Advancing down the hills, the soil becomes of a deeper staple. 1802 R. Brookes Gazetteer (ed. 12) s.v. Rutlandshire, The e and se parts are of a shallow staple upon limestone rock. 1813 Vancouver Agric. Devon 29 The country through Ashton..consists of a brown tender mould of a good staple on a Dunstone rubble. 1861 Times 11 July, In a clover-ley field, where plenty of stone showed itself at 6 inches or 7 inches depth, under a hard and tough staple. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 1)
staple-end,
staple fibre,
staple yarn;
staple-rope (see
quot. 1794);
staple-soil = sense 3;
staple-threaded a., composed of thread of selected staple.
| 1884 M{supc}Laren Spinning (ed. 2) 15 By examining the *staple-ends to see whether they are pointed or thick. |
| 1928 E. Fyleman tr. Hottenroth's Artificial Silk i. 16 *Staple fibre..consists of artificial silk, the thread of which is cut into sections of about the length of cotton or worsted staple. 1974 Sci. Amer. Apr. 57/3 The viscose-rayon process..regenerates pure cellulose..as a continuous filament or a staple fiber. |
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship 57 *Staple-ropes, a term for ropes made of hemp not inferior to clean Petersburgh. |
| 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. ii. 317 This is chiefly a deep *staple soil. 1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 20 His practice never advanced further than to lay bare the subsoil in the intervals' by gathering the staple-soil into the wheat ridges. |
| 1896 Daily News 9 Apr. 6/5 Woven with a double warp and a *staple-threaded weft of the strongest wools. |
| 1955 Times 10 May 18/3 More inquiry continues to come forward for filament rayon and *staple yarns. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 209 The filaments are bunched together, cut into short lengths, combed, drawn and spun into spun or staple yarn, which is fuzzier and is made into fabrics. |
▪ IV. staple, n.4 north. (
ˈstæpl)
Also
stapple.
[Of obscure origin.] (See
quots.) Also
staple-pit.
| 1818 J. Adley Coal Trade 8 With sinking staples and driving drifts You're often put to all your shifts. 1849 Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade (1851) 51 Staple, a small pit, sunk upwards or downwards from one seam to another underground. 1862 Times 28 Jan., A ‘staple’, or narrow shaft communicating with the upper seam. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 238 Staple or Staple pit, a shallow shaft within a mine. 1883 Chamb. Jrnl. 733, I was near done when I got out, and then had to travel round and get out by a stapple. 1887 P. M{supc}Neill Blawearie 131 Bob Pringle has fa'en into a stapple fu' o' water in the great-seam waste. 1900 Engineering Mag. XIX. 714 Into all of these operations—cutting the coal by machinery,..hoisting trams up small ‘staple’ pits from one seam to another,..electricity now enters very largely. |
▪ V. staple, a. (
steɪp(ə)l)
[From the attributive use of staple n.2, as in staple-ware.] 1. Originally, qualifying
commodity or words of similar meaning: Having a foremost place among the products exported by a country or place. Hence, in wider sense: Having the chief place among the articles of production or consumption, the industries, employments, etc. of a place, a people, or an individual, or among the constituent elements of anything.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 221 The staple commodities are cotton woolles..chamolets, salt and sope-ashes. 1633 Sir J. Boroughs Sov. Brit. Seas (1651) 150 Wee may as easily grow expert in the Art of Fishing, and in time make it a staple commodity of our owne. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Glouc. (1662) 351 The staple use of Sider is at Sea, where it quencheth thirst better than other liquor. 1699 Sir W. Temple Ess. Pop. Discont. Wks. 1731 I. 263 Woollen manufacture..ought to be ever the Staple Trade of England, as that of Linnen ought to be of Ireland. 1715 Bentley Serm. x. 371 Nothing but Mass-books and Rosaries..shall then be the staple commodities, even in an University. 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 201 Agriculture is..that art..from which the most staple commodities must proceed, to wit, corn and wool. 1841 L. Hunt Seer (1864) 25 We confined ourselues to tea, because it is the staple drink. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. xi. (1879) 236 The only country in the world where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food. 1859 C. Barker Assoc. Princ. ii. 44 Woollen cloth, which the King sought to make the staple manufacture of his own dominions. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. vii. 112 Their staple subjects of thought. 1872 Jenkinson Engl. Lake Distr. (1879) 129 The staple trade of Keswick. 1900 Elworthy Horns of Honour ii. 89 The staple accusation made by these wretches against their victims [witches] was that of being in compact with the devil. |
† b. Of a book, an author: Standard.
Obs.| 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. State iii. xviii. 200 Proportion an houres meditation to an houres reading of a staple Authour. a 1730 Fenton Poems, To Knt. Sable Shield 28 And while each little author struts In calves-skin gilt, adorn'd with cuts; I, vouching, pass 'em off as dear As any staple-classic ware. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 223 The Chinese..say by heart all their Staple Books without Hesitation. |
† c. Home-grown, native; characteristic of the country.
Obs.| [1648 Art. Peace xiv. in Milton's Wks. (1851) IV. 519 Certain Articles added to the same Act, all concerning staple or native Commodities of this Kingdom, shall be repealed.] 1771 Junius Lett. lvii. 295 Pernicious influence..banishes the staple virtues of the Country. |
† 2. (? Confused with
stable a.) Permanent, stable.
Obs.| 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 536 The Athenians gaue the Tenth, not onely of spoyles for once, and no more, but of land, to be a standing staple Tithe for euer. a 1641 ― Acts & Mon. (1642) 11 For sacrifice, in shedding of bloud, was the principall staple, standing Service of God in Nature. [Often in Mountagu.] a 1642 Sir W. Monson Naval Tracts v. (1704) 454/1 [He] will be sure to make his Foundation firm and staple. 1794 G. Adams Nat. & Exper. Phil. III. xxix. 196 Time cannot be applied to any being of staple and permanent duration. |
† 3. In
statute staple the
adj. replaces the phrase
of the Staple, on the analogy of
statute merchant (see
statute n.); hence also in
recognisance staple, a recognisance taken before the mayor of the staple.
Obs.| 1586 Hooker Holinshed's Chron. Irel. 139/2 They haue a maior and officers of the staple..who haue the liberties for taking of statutes and recognisances staple, not onelie within their owne towne..but also of sundrie townes in Leinster and Mounster, and the counties of Waterford, Kilkennie, Wexford, and Tipporarie. |
▪ VI. staple, v.1 (
ˈsteɪp(ə)l)
[f. staple n.1] trans. † a. To clasp, fasten (a helmet):
cf. staple n.1 1 c.
Obs. b. To secure with or as with a staple.
| 13.. Gaw & Gr. Knt. 606 Þenne hentes he þe helme..þat was stapled stifly, & stoffed wyth-inne. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 125 [He] Brocht it till Scwne, and stapill maid it thar, Quhar kingis was cround viij hundyr ȝer and mar, Befor the tyme at king Eduuard it fand. 1742 Woodroofe in Hanway's Trav. (1762) I. ii. xxiii. 98 They cover them with canvass well tarred, and lay battins over it every three or four inches, stapling them fast with a kind of crooked nail. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. I. xxix. 190, I was loaded with irons and stapled to the deck. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 2 An iron ring that was stapled into a post. 1896 Strand Mag. XII. 323/2 The standing ways are securely stapled to heavy cross-blocks of timber. 1964 R. Petrie Murder by Precedent vi. 87 At no time after stapling the copies did I move any sheets apart. 1975 D. Ramsay Descent into Dark iv. 130 You were stapling that article on abortion together. |
▪ VII. staple, v.2 Obs. exc. Hist. (
ˈsteɪp(ə)l)
[f. staple n.2] 1. trans. To receive (export goods) at a staple; to cause to be weighed, inspected, and sealed in accordance with the regulations of the staple.
| 1472–3 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 59/2 That all the Wolles..be shipt and conveyed to the said Staple at Caleys and there to be stapled. 1601 J. Wheeler Treat. Comm. 14 The Company settled themselues in the Towne of Bridges, and stapled their commodities there. |
2. intr. To establish a staple.
| 1580 Hakluyt Voy. (1599) I. 437 It were good that we did seeke out some small Island..where we might plant, fortifie, and staple safely, from whence..wee might feed those heathen nations with our commodities. |
Hence
ˈstapling vbl. n. (in
quot. attrib.)
| 1908 Atton & Holland King's Customs 26 To gain possession of the stapling privilege. |