Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Stable

Sta′ble (stā′b'l), a. [OE. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i. and cf. Establish.] 1. Firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government.

In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable. Rogers.

2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character.

And to her husband ever meek and stable. Chaucer.

3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position.

Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; — opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed does not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center of gravity. Cf. Neutral equilibrium, under Neutral.

Syn. — Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.

Sta′ble, v. t. To fix; to establish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Sta′ble, n. [OF. estable, F. étable, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i.] A house, shed, or building, for beasts to lodge and feed in; esp., a building or apartment with stalls, for horses; as, a horse stable; a cow stable. Milton.

Stable fly (Zoöl.), a common dipterous fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) which is abundant about stables and often enters dwellings, especially in autumn. These files, unlike the common house files, which they resemble, bite severely, and are troublesome to horses and cattle.

Sta′ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stabling.] To put or keep in a stable.

Sta′ble, v. i. To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed place; to kennel. Milton.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.