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stalk

noun, verb — 20 senses

stalk

noun

UK /stɔːk/ · US /stɔk/

Etymology

From Middle English stalke, stelke, stalk, perhaps from Old English *stealc, *stielc, *stealuc, from Proto-West Germanic *staluk, *stalik, from Proto-Germanic *stalukaz, *stalikaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *stalô, *staluz (“support, stem, stalk”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, stand; be stiff; stud, post, trunk, stake, stem, stalk”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch staal (“sample”), steel (“stem”), German Stiel (“stalk”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål stilk (“stalk, stem”), Faroese stjølur (“bottom part of a sheaf”), Icelandic stilkur (“stalk, stem”), Norwegian Nynorsk stilk, stylk (“stalk, stem”), styl (“lower part of a straw”), Swedish stjälk (“stalk, stem”), Albanian shtalkë (“crossbeam, board used as a door hinge”), Welsh telm (“frond”), Ancient Greek στειλειή (steileiḗ, “beam”), Old Armenian ստեղն (stełn, “trunk, stalk”).

11 senses
  1. 1The stem or main axis of a plant.
  2. 2The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant.
  3. 3Something resembling the stalk of a plant, such as the…
  4. 4An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the…
  5. 5One of the two upright pieces of a ladder.
  6. 6A stem or peduncle, as in certain barnacles and crinoids.
  7. 7The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterou…
  8. 8The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.
  9. 9An iron bar with projections inserted in a core to…
  10. 10Informally, a construction which generalizes that of the…
  11. 11The penis.
1

The stem or main axis of a plant.

  • a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats;  the stalks of maize or hemp
  • Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with […] on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust from which gnarled and rusty stalks thrust themselves up like withered elfin limbs.1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), pages 377–378:
2

The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle of a plant.

  • grape stalks
3

Something resembling the stalk of a plant, such as the stem of a quill.

  • they appear to be made up of little Bladders , like those in the Plume or Stalk of a Quill1681, Nehemiah Grew, Musæum Regalis Societatis. Or A Catalogue & Description of the Natural and Artificial Rarities Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham Colledge. […], London: […] W. Rawlins, for the author, →OCLC:
4

Architecture An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.

5

One of the two upright pieces of a ladder.

6

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology A stem or peduncle, as in certain barnacles and crinoids.

7

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect.

8

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.

9

Arts, Crafts, Engineering, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Metallurgy, Metalworking, Natural sciences, Physical sciences An iron bar with projections inserted in a core to strengthen it; a core arbor.

10

Mathematics, Sciences Informally, a construction which generalizes that of the notion of the ring of germs of functions near a point to the context of arbitrary sheaves. Formally, given a sheaf ℱ on a space X, and a point x in X, the direct limit of the sections of F on the open neighborhoods of x ordered by reverse inclusion. See Stalk (sheaf) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

11

Slang The penis.

Derived terms
30 termsbeanstalk, chimney stalk, cornstalk, destalk, e-stalk, eyestalk, facestalk, footstalk, Google stalk, gout stalk, haystalk, jade stalk, laughing stalk, leafstalk, prestalk, rootstalk, rose twisted-stalk, seedstalk, stalkborer, stalkette, stalk-eyed, stalk-eyed fly, stalkish, stalkless, stalklet, stalklike, sugar cane stalk, twisted-stalk, vinestalk, wheatstalk

stalk

verb
Etymology

From Middle English stalken, from Old English *stealcian (as in bestealcian (“to move stealthily”), stealcung (“stalking”)), from Proto-West Germanic *stalukōn, from Proto-Germanic *stalukōną (“to stalk, move stealthily”) (compare Dutch stelkeren, stolkeren (“to tip-toe, tread carefully”), Danish stalke (“to high step, stalk”), Norwegian dialectal stalka (“to trudge”)), from *stalkaz, *stelkaz (compare Old English stealc (“steep”), Old Norse stelkr, stjalkr (“knot (bird), red sandpiper”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telg, *(s)tolg- (compare Middle Irish tolg (“strength”), Lithuanian stalgùs (“stiff, defiant, proud”)). Alternate etymology connects Proto-Germanic *stalkōną to a frequentative form of *stelaną (“to steal”).

1

To approach slowly and quietly in order not to be discovered when getting closer.

  • As for shooting a man from behind a wall, it is cruelly like to stalking a deer.1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:
  • But they had already discovered that he could be bullied, and they had it their own way; and presently Selwyn lay prone upon the nursery floor, impersonating a ladrone while pleasant shivers chased themselves over Drina, whom he was stalking.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
2

To (try to) follow or contact someone constantly, often resulting in harassment.ᵂᵖ

  • My ex-girlfriend is stalking me.
  • villages stalked by the threat of famine
3

To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner.

  • [Bertran] stalks close behind her, like a witch's fiend, / Pressing to be employed.1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 53:
  • O ay, stalk on, stalk on, the fowl sits1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
4

To walk behind something, such as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under cover.

  • The king[…]crept under the shoulder of his led horse;[…]"I must stalk," said he.1625, Francis [Bacon], Apophthegmes New and Old. […], London: […] Hanna Barret, and Richard Whittaker, […], →OCLC:
  • One underneath his horse, to get a shoot doth stalk.1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion:
5

Internet Of a person's social media activity: to look through thoroughly or obsessively; to keep tabs on, generally avoiding contact.

  • Coordinate term: lurk
  • Hate when I'm stalking someone's Insta and I like one of their old pics. Makes me wanna burrow underground n' hibernate for a season or two.2016 April 8, @JVCKJ, Twitter:

stalk

noun
Etymology

From Middle English stalken, from Old English *stealcian (as in bestealcian (“to move stealthily”), stealcung (“stalking”)), from Proto-West Germanic *stalukōn, from Proto-Germanic *stalukōną (“to stalk, move stealthily”) (compare Dutch stelkeren, stolkeren (“to tip-toe, tread carefully”), Danish stalke (“to high step, stalk”), Norwegian dialectal stalka (“to trudge”)), from *stalkaz, *stelkaz (compare Old English stealc (“steep”), Old Norse stelkr, stjalkr (“knot (bird), red sandpiper”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telg, *(s)tolg- (compare Middle Irish tolg (“strength”), Lithuanian stalgùs (“stiff, defiant, proud”)). Alternate etymology connects Proto-Germanic *stalkōną to a frequentative form of *stelaną (“to steal”).

1

A particular episode of trying to follow or contact someone.

2

The hunting of a wild animal by stealthy approach.

  • When the stalk was over (the antelope took alarm and ran off before I was within rifle shot) I came back.1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman:
Derived terms
cyberstalk, facestalk, gangstalk, prestalk, stalkable, stalkee, stalker, stalkumentary, stalky

stalk

verb

Etymology Attested 1530 in the sense "to walk haughtily", perhaps from Old English stealc (“steep”), from Proto-Germanic *stelkaz, *stalkaz (“high, lofty, steep, stiff”); see above.

1

To walk haughtily.

  • With manly mien he stalked along the ground.1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
  • Then stalking through the deep, / He fords the ocean.1704, Joseph Addison, Milton's Stile Imitated, in a Translation of a Story out of the Third Aeneid:
1 more example
  • I forbear myself from entering the lists in which he has long stalked alone and unchallenged.1850, Charles Merivale, History of the Romans Under the Empire:

stalk

noun

Etymology Attested 1530 in the sense "to walk haughtily", perhaps from Old English stealc (“steep”), from Proto-Germanic *stelkaz, *stalkaz (“high, lofty, steep, stiff”); see above.

1

A haughty style of walking.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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