Meaning

noun continuing or remaining in a place or state

noun the state of inactivity following an interruption

noun a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted

originFrom Middle English steyen, staien, from Old French estayer, estaier (“to fix, prop up, support, stay”), from estaye, estaie (“a prop, stay”), from Middle Dutch staeye (“a prop, stay”), a contracted form of staede, stade (“a prop, stay, help, aid”) (compare Middle Dutch staeyen, staeden (“to make firm, stay, support, hold still, stabilise”)), from Proto-West Germanic *stadi (“a site, place,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0