stopple

noun, verb — 3 senses

noun

UK /ˈstɒpəl/

Etymology From Middle English stopple, stoppel, stoppell, from Old French estopail, estopaille. By surface analysis, stop + -le.

A plug; a stopper.

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences A projection or lid in a pollen grain that falls away to allow the passage of the pollen tube.

verb

Etymology From Middle English stopple, stoppel, stoppell, from Old French estopail, estopaille. By surface analysis, stop + -le.

To plug; to stop up.

Shut your mouth, dame, / Or with this paper shall I stopple it.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:

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

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