▪ I. stab, n.1
(stæb)
Also 5–7 stabbe, 6 stappe.
[Related to stab v. Cf. mod.Sc. stab, a large needle, a prickle.]
The form stappe in quot. 1583 may possibly be a distinct word, but has not been found elsewhere.
1. A wound produced by stabbing.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 471/1 Stabbe, or wownde of smytynge, stigma. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. iii. 119 His gash'd stabs, look'd like a Breach in Nature, For Ruines wastfull entrance. 1826 S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 134 An important punctured wound, such as the stab of a bayonet. 1841 Dickens Barn. Rudge vi, You found me with this stab and an ugly bruise or two. |
2. a. An act of stabbing; a thrust dealt with some sharp-pointed instrument producing a wound in the flesh.
| 1530 Palsgr. 275/1 Stabbe with a daggar, covp destoc. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iv. 58 b, After he was dead, the enemie gaue hym many a stappe with his dagger. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 63 The Elements..Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well..with bemockt-at-Stabs Kill the still closing waters, as [etc.]. 1644 Sir E. Dering Prop. Sacr. b iiij b, A young fellow..did aim the stabbe of his knife into the Kings belly. 1722 De Foe Moll Flanders (1840) 203 A stab that touched the vitals. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 27 A poisonous draught, or a deadly stab. 1830 Tennyson Oriana 50 Oh! deathful stabs were dealt apace. 1867 F. Francis Angling iii. (1880) 95 Master Perch..will resent rough..handling by a smart stab or two. |
b. fig.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. ii. 89 This sudden stab of Rancour I misdoubt. 1746 Wesley Princ. Methodist Pref., After many Stabs in the Dark, I was publickly attacked..by my own familiar Friend. 1796 Burke Let. to Mrs. Crewe Corr. IV. 335 A stab was attempted on my reputation. 1894 S. Weyman Man in Black 201 This stab, that a little earlier would have pierced her very heart-strings, did but prick her. 1909 E. Rickert Beggar in Heart 24 She remembered, with a stab of pain, the quiver in his voice. |
c. the stab: death by stabbing. Also fig.
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit (1637) 124 With too silly arguments goeth about to give them the deadly stab. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xx, To kill one [raven] in their presence, is such bad luck that it deserves the stab. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xxxviii, Life—death—to-morrow; the rudis or the stab? Which shall it be? |
d. transf. A vigorous thrust as if to stab some one.
| 1902 M. Barnes-Grundy Thames Camp 196 Sewing is rather restful; and you can give such vent to your feelings with each stab of the needle. |
e. fig. A flash of bright colour against dark surroundings.
| 1894 Superfl. Woman (ed. 4) III. 4 The moving stabs of colour in passing trams and other vehicles. 1903 Speaker 17 Oct. 64/2 The blackbird in his jet-black dress, the stab of colour of his bill accentuating the hue. |
f. In colloq. phr. to make (or have, etc.) a stab at (something), to try, attempt; to make a shot at. orig. U.S.
| 1895 W. C. Gore in Inlander Dec. 115 Stab, to make a, to make a blind attempt to answer a question. 1908 K. McGaffey Show Girl 235, I..made a stab for the rail. 1915 Wodehouse Something Fresh xi. 315 ‘I do wish that this time you would endeavour..not to make a fool of yourself.’.. ‘I'll have a jolly good stab at it, governor.’ 1930 Galsworthy Roof vi. 96 D'you think you'll be able to travel the day after to-morrow?.. I'll have a good stab at it, as my more genial colleagues say. 1940 ‘N. Shute’ Old Captivity x. 294 We may have to come back again... But I think we'll have a stab at it. 1961 Press Jrnl. Apr. 10/3 Let's say you're going to take a stab at writing up the annual office picnic. 1973 ‘S. Woods’ Enter Corpse 113 ‘Now that,’ said Nelson, ‘I can't believe.’ ‘You might have a stab at it,’ Maitland suggested, ‘It happens to be true.’ 1980 W. Maxwell So Long, see You Tomorrow (1981) ii. 7 She may have made a stab at being a mother to my older brother and me. |
g. In fig. phr. stab in the back, a treacherous deed. Cf. sense 1 g of the vb.
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 621 That stab in the back touch was quite in keeping with those Italianos. 1934 R. H. Lutz Causes of German Collapse in 1918 v. 132 (heading) The ‘stab-in-the-back’ question. 1934 ― tr. von Kuhl in Ibid., Some maintain that we lost the war owing to the stab in the back administered to the Army by those at home... On the other side the ‘stab-in-the-back legend’ is rejected as ‘one of the most malignant and..stupidest legends’. 1953 J. W. Wheeler-Bennett Nemesis of Power i. i. 67 For several days before his actual appearance..Hindenburg was closeted with..the extreme Nationalist leaders. In this brief period was crystallized the legend of the ‘stab-in-the-back’, in justification of which many innocent Germans were to suffer when the National Socialists came to power. Ibid., The Marshal [sc. Hindenburg] testified..on November 18... He..addressed himself to the German people. Their defeat, he told them, was not attributable to the Army but to the civilian demoralization and disunion. The irreproachable Army had received a ‘stab-in-the-back’ (Dolchstoss) from the Revolution. 1959 Times 21 Oct. 13/4 Professor Nordhoff, the managing director of Volkswagen, reacted as if he were the victim of another stab-in-the-back legend. 1971 A. Bullock Twentieth Cent. 25/1 Our knowledge of the recent past..will be based on hear-say, myths (‘the Stab in the Back’, for instance). |
3. Billiards. A short, stiff stroke which causes the striker's ball to remain dead or to travel but slowly after striking the object ball; more fully stab stroke; hence stab cannon, stab screw, a cannon or screw made with this stroke.
| 1873 Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 192 There is another screw stroke called stab screw... If the striker desires to stop his own ball dead as soon as it strikes the object ball full,..the object is to be attained by means of stab. Ibid. 281 The best chance left is a stab cannon... The effect of the stab..is to carry the white slowly on to the spot-white. 1885 Billiards Simplified (1889) 157 The way to play the stroke is by means of what is known as a stab stroke. |
4. Oil Industry. (See quot. 1975.)
| 1972 L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations xii. 133 The integral marine-riser system has the choke and kill lines installed on the riser joints so that they are simultaneously stabbed and made up during the stab and make up of the marine-riser connector. 1975 L. Crook Oil Terms 106 Stab, the operation of guiding one end of a pipe into the connection of another pipe to ‘make up’ a connection. |
5. Comb. stab-and-drag Archæol., a technique of ceramic decoration whereby a point is drawn along the surface of a pot and pushed in deeper at intervals (usu. attrib.); stab-awl, a shoemaker's tool used for piercing leather; stab-cannon (see sense 3); stab-culture, a culture (3 c) in which the medium is inoculated by means of a needle thrust deeply into its substance; stab-screw, (see sense 3); stab-stitch Needlework (see quot. 1964); hence as v. trans. and stab-stitching vbl. n.; stab-stroke (see sense 3); stab-wort, the wood-sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), believed to be so called with reference to its supposed healing properties (also stobwort, stubwort); stab-wound, a punctured wound produced by an act or the action of stabbing. Also stab-like adj.
| 1931 V. G. Childe in Archæol. Jrnl. LXXXVIII. 47 Handles and flat bases first make their appearance in Fort Harrouard II. In the same levels the fine incision of the early Chassey style gives place to deep incision, or *stab-and-drag. 1931 S. Piggott in Ibid. 78 Stab-and-drag lines—made with a point that is drawn along the clay and pushed in deeper at intervals—occur only on certain Scottish pots, e.g., from Unstan. 1954 ― Neolithic Cultures vii. 204 Certain vessels with stab-and-drag motifs. 1978 Proc. Prehist. Soc. XLIV. 276 Decorated wall-sherd; fine vertical stab and drag lines. |
| 1840 Life Adam Clarke iv. 94 He borrowed a *stab awl and a hammer from a shoe maker. |
| 1889 Science 20 Dec. 418 The mere production of a direct *stab-culture from one organ, such as the spleen..affords very incomplete..information. |
| 1887 Christina Tyrrell tr. E. Werner's Her Son I. 79 The contemptuous glance of those eyes penetrated with a *stab-like pain to his heart's core. |
| 1917 E. R. Hambridge Simple Dressmaking i. 7/2 Back stitches should be frequent in stab tacking... Cf. Fig. 28 for *stab stitch, which is similarly worked. Ibid. i. 10/1 Running, run-stitching, and half back-stitching can also be stab-stitched, but strong thread or silk should be employed. Ibid., Stab-stitching..is back-stitching, but worked with the needle placed vertically through the material..instead of horizontally. 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 159/2 Stab stitching..close to the fold of the felt..may be employed. c 1951 Glovemaking (Dryad Leaflet 31) 6 A hand-made glove..is almost always sewn on the right side, and various stitches can be used. The most popular of these is the ‘prix’ or stab-stitch. 1964 McCall's Sewing ii. 32/2 Stab-stitch a stitch in which the needle is brought in and out of the fabric at right angles. 1976 Woman's Weekly 6 Nov. 42/3 Stab-stitch the boots together in pairs. |
| 1640 Parkinson Theat. Bot. 747 We [call it] in English Wood Sorrell..*Stabbewort. 1665 Lovell Herbal (ed. 2) 419 Stubwort or Stabwort, see Wood sorrell. |
| 1897 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 27 Mar. 774 A *stab wound in the right loin. |
▪ II. stab, n.2 Sc. and dial.
(stæb)
[? Sc. variant of stob n.: cf. tap = top. But cf. also Da., Norw., Sw. dial. stabbe, mod.Icel. stabbi tree-stump, block, Da. dial. stabb peg.]
1. A stake, a wooden post.
stab and rice = stake and rice: see stake n.1 2 a. stab and stow: completely, entirely.
| 1680 Invent. in Scott. N. & Q. IX. 95 Ane wall of stab and ryce..ane chimnay of stab and ryce. 1722 W. Hamilton Wallace 259 (Jam.) Who set their lodgings all in a fair low About their ears and burnt them stab and stow. 1821 Galt Ann. Parish vi, The plantations supplied him with stabs to make stake and rice between his fields. 1842 J. Aiton Dom. Econ. (1857) 160 The minister of a village..requested that a wall should be built round his glebe. ‘Would stabs and railings not answer the purpose equally well?’ asked one present. 1907 Eppie Frazer Clodhopper i. ii. 8 They've drawn the loosened paling stab. |
2. A stump.
| c 1800 Howlett in Young's Agric. Essex (1807) I. 180 As soon as the hedge is cut down, most of which [is] within an inch or two of the old stabb. Ibid., With the young shoots of the parts cut off close to the stabbs. |
3. A block (of wood, etc.) used as a seat.
| 1805 M{supc}Indoe Poems 10 (E.D.D.) The seat, a stab, the heel pins rotten. |
▪ III. stab, n.3 dial.
(stæb)
[Of obscure origin.]
(See quot. 1838.)
| 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., Stab, a hole in the ground, in which the female rabbit secures her litter while they are very young. 1875 Parish Sussex Gloss. s.v. Stalled, The old dog..found a stab out in the field. 1888 Sat. Rev. 5 May 530/2 The rat..will draw the young rabbits out of the ‘stabs’. |
▪ IV. stab, n.4 Printing slang.
(stæb)
Also 'stab.
[Short for establishment.]
= establishment 10. Also attrib.
| 1865 Hotten's Slang. Dict. 244 On the stab. 1875 Southward Dict. Typogr. s.v., A man who is ‘on 'stab’ receives establishment wages. 1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 130 Stab, a term applied to establishment hands, i.e. workmen paid by the week and not by piece-work. 1890 Scott. Leader 10 June 5 Fleming was known as a stab man, as opposed to a man who was paid by the result of his labours. Ibid. 6 When he was dismissed he was a society-man, and was paid a stab wage of {pstlg}2 3s a week. |
▪ V. stab, n.5 Med.
(stæb)
[a. G. stab rod, after V. Schilling's use of G. stabförmig rod-shaped, stabkern rod-nucleus (Zeitscher. f. exper. Path. u. Therapie (1911) IX. 691, 692): cf. staff n.1]
Used attrib. and absol. to designate white blood cells characterized by a nucleus in the form of a single bent or twisted rod (orig. regarded as abnormal forms).
| 1929 R. B. H. Gradwohl tr. Schilling's Blood Picture ii. 128 The neutrophilic degenerative stab or staff forms are not present in the normal blood picture. Ibid. 135 They [sc. degenerative forms] are practically insignificant, with the exception of the stabs..which deserve special mention as a degenerative phenomenon in the nuclear shift. 1938 W. Magner Textbk. Hematol. v. 79 Schilling divides the neutrophile leukocytes into the following classes. (1) Myelocytes. (2) Juvenile leukocytes or metamyelocytes. (3) Stab, staff or rod-nuclear cells. 1972 W. J. Williams et al. Hematol. iii. 27/2 (heading) Band form or stab cell. Ibid. lxvi. 562/2 The stab is the least mature cell of the granulocytic series found in the peripheral blood of normal persons. |
▪ VI. stab, v.
(stæb)
[Related to the synonymous stob v.
The vb. has been found before 1530 only in Sc. writers; the related stab n.1 occurs in Promp. Parv. (1440).]
1. a. trans. To wound (often to kill) with a thrust of a pointed weapon (chiefly, with a short weapon, as a dagger). Phrase, to stab to († at, into) the heart.
| 1530 Palsgr. 731/2 He stabbyd hym with a daggar. 1585–7 Kyd Sp. Trag. iv. i. 125 She..Did stab herselfe. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 47 Stab them, or teare them on thy Chariot wheeles. 1605 Nottingham Rec. IV. 276 A dagger to stabbe and kill Hugh Lenton. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 201 Iohn Iames..did stab into the breast Peter Heywood Esquire. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §9 Stabbed to the heart by the hand of an obscure villain. 1678 Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. i. §100. 468/2 Henry the fourth King of France was stab'd by Ravilliac. 1713 Addison Cato iii. ii, Think, thou seest thy dying brother Stabb'd at his heart. 1718 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VI. 247 A Stag..meeting a Man as he was running along, he stabbed him with his Horns. 1764 Museum Rust. IV. 33 Some Remarks on stabbing Cattle hoved with Clover. 1771 Burrow King's Bench Rep. V. 2795 John Taylor instantly..stabbed the said James Smith. 1830 Tennyson Oriana 55 They should have stabb'd me where I lay. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xlv, Scipio..stabbed himself. |
† b. to stab (a person) in = sense 1. Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 731/2, I stabbe in with a dagger or any other scharpe wepyn, je enferre. 1561 Norton & Sackv. Gorboduc iv. ii. 190 While slumbring on his carefull bed he restes His hart stabde in with knife is reft of life. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Confossus..wounded: stabbed in. 1587 Higgins Mirr. Mag., C. I. Cæsar xlix, Hee stabde mee in, and so with daggers did the rest. 1587 Golding De Mornay xii. (1592) 173 This proud Peacocke [Cæsar]..is in one day stabbed in with infinite wounds. |
c. fig.
| 1686 A. Horneck Crucif. Jesus xxiv. 803 If he have often stabbed his neighbours by slanders. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 617 'Tis universal soldiership has stabb'd The heart of merit in the meaner class. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab. iii. 200 He fabricates The sword which stabs his peace. c 1850 Lowell Leg. Brittany ii. xxiv, Her silence stabbed his conscience through and through. |
d. transf. In various occasional uses.
| a 1652 Brome Queen & Concubine iii. viii. (1659) 64 Thou hear'st me say, I dare not speak her name, Yet thou dar'st stab mine Ears again, with it. a 1711 Ken Psyche Poet. Wks. IV. 234 As the Morning Cloud decays, When stab'd by the encroaching Rays. a 1800 Dk. Athole's Nurse xi. in Child Ballads IV. 152 O they stabbed the feather-bed all round and round. 1834 M. Edgeworth Helen ii. ix, When they had stabbed the cushions, and torn the inside of my carriage all to pieces. 1895 Outing XXVI. 40/2 Fireflies stabbed the gloom with their darting flame. |
† e. slang. (See quot.) Obs.
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Dorset (1662) 278 Stab'd with a Byrdport Dagger. That is, hang'd... The best..Hemp..growing about Byrdport. |
† f. With obscene reference. Obs.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. i. 15. 1601 ― Jul. C. i. ii. 277. |
g. In fig. phr. to stab (a person, etc.) in the back, to harm or damage in a treacherous manner. Cf. back-stabber.
| 1916 G. B. Shaw in N.Y. Times Mag. 9 Apr. 2/2 The cry that ‘England's Difficulty Is Ireland's Opportunity’ is raised in the old senseless, spiteful way as a recommendation to stab England in the back when she is fighting some one else. 1932 Kipling Limits & Renewals 384 He makes my job ten times more difficult than it need be..stabs me in the back with his crazy schemes for betterment. 1956 N. Nicolson Diary 4 Nov. in Diaries & Lett. H. Nicolson (1968) 315, I did not want to publish any letter until the crisis in Egypt had ended, as otherwise I might be accused of stabbing the troops in the back. 1979 F. Olbrich Sweet & Deadly viii. 91 All these years with me he's been completely honest and now he stabs me in the back. |
2. a. absol. and intr. To use a pointed weapon to wound or kill.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 545 Than suld the laiff that forouth ar Stab doune with speres sturdely. Ibid. 565 Thai stabbit, stekit, and thai slew. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. i. 13 It may chance cost some of vs our liues: he wil stab. 1607 Lingua ii. i, If they heare my name abused, they stab for my sake. 1700 Dryden Pal. & Arc. iii. 509 None shall dare With shortned Sword to stab in closer War. 1819 Shelley Mask lxxxiv, Let them ride among you there, Slash, and stab, and maim, and hew. 1847 Tennyson Princess Concl. 61 The little boys begin to shoot and stab. 1887 Gunter Mr. Barnes xxiii. 178 ‘My husband's body lies behind those curtains!’ She stands with uplifted arm a moment, pointing to the draperies through which Tomasso has stabbed. |
| fig. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 109 Thou hid'st a thousand Daggers in thy thoughts,..To stab at halfe an howre of my Life. 1599 ― Much Ado ii. i. 255 Shee speakes poynyards, and euery word stabbes. 1762 Lloyd Epist. to Churchill 14 Critics of old..Boldly persu'd the free decisive task, Nor stabb'd, conceal'd beneath a ruffian's mask. 1769 Junius Lett. xxvi. 122 Suspicion is the foul weapon with which you..stab. 1871 Macduff Mem. Patmos xxi. 290 They stab at their neighbour's good name and reputation. 1883 Harper's Mag. Feb. 352/2 The baffled sun stabs wildly at the gale. |
† b. Sc. To make thrusts with a staff or club.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iii. x. 6 Poliphemus..A monstir..Wanting his sycht, and com to stab and graip With his burdoun, that wes the greit fir tre [orig. trunca manum pinus regit et vestigia firmat]. |
c. To suffer a ‘stab’ of pain. ? nonce-use.
| 1865 A. Thomas On Guard xxxix, The reels of cotton danced aloud within it, making Stanley's head stab. |
d. To make a hole through something. Also fig., to pierce like a pointed weapon.
| 1897 Kipling Capt. Cour. v. 112 The foregaff stabbed and ripped through the staysail. 1920 R. Macaulay Potterism vi. v. 259 Gideon's fate pilloried on that placard had stabbed through him. 1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist ii. 33 Outside our mortal dusty sphere, Canopus must be a horrible, blinding searchlight stabbing through a black and icy void. |
3. trans. To thrust (a weapon) into a person.
| c 1610 Rowlands Terrible Batt. 10, I stab'd my dart, thus deepe into his side. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus Admir. Events 250 Liberat..gets upon him, stabs his poignard three or foure times in his belly. 1912 19th Cent. Dec. 1195 Women stab the daggers to their throats immediately. |
4. To prick. Now dial. Cf. stob v.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 1/26 To stab, pricke, pungere, stimulare. 1864 J. Rogers New Rush ii. 33 [He may] stab himself upon a Porcupine. |
5. To hammer or pick (a hard surface) with a sharp tool, to roughen (a wall) with a pick before applying a coat of plaster.
| 1846 Penny Cycl. Suppl. II. 431/1 The surface of the brickwork must be stabbed or picked over to make it rough. |
6. Bookbinding. To pierce (a collection of sheets) in order to make a hole for a binding thread or wire; to fasten the sheets of (a pamphlet, etc.) together in this way instead of by sewing.
| 1863 Reader 21 Nov. 600/1 Nor even stitched like a book, but ‘stabbed’ as an auction catalogue now is. 1888 Jacobi Printer's Vocab. 130 Stabbed, a form of stitching by piercing or stabbing, used mostly for cheap pamphlet work. 1901 19th Cent. Apr. 662 When enough sheets have been brought together they are stabbed at the open ends and form a volume. |
7. Oil Industry. To guide (a length of pipe) so as to connect it properly to another member.
| [1922: implied at stabber 1 d.]. 1932 Amer. Speech VII. 271 Stab, to guide (pipe) in making connections so that the threads engage properly. 1948 Petroleum Handbk. (ed. 3) v. 85 As the empty elevator hook is hoisted the derrick man latches in a stand as it passes his level. The stand is picked up and ‘stabbed’ into the tool joint at the rotary table. 1976 Offshore Platforms & Pipelining 6/3 Only one pile add-on will have to be stabbed and welded to drive the sleeve piles. |