stale

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb urinate, of cattle and horses
  2. adjective lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
  3. adjective lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new

Etymology

From Middle English stale, from Old French estal (“fixed position, place”), but probably originally from Proto-Germanic *stāną (“to stand”): compare West Flemish stel in the same sense for ‘beer’ and ‘urine’.

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