stool

stool
stoollike, adj.
/stoohl/, n.
1. a single seat on legs or a pedestal and without arms or a back.
2. a short, low support on which to stand, step, kneel, or rest the feet while sitting.
3. Hort. the stump, base, or root of a plant from which propagative organs are produced, as shoots for layering.
4. the base of a plant that annually produces new stems or shoots.
5. a cluster of shoots or stems springing up from such a base or from any root, or a single shoot or layer.
6. a bird fastened to a pole or perch and used as a decoy.
7. an artificial duck or other bird, usually made from wood, used as a decoy by hunters.
8. a privy.
9. the fecal matter evacuated at each movement of the bowels.
10. the sill of a window. See diag. under double-hung.
11. a bishop's seat considered as symbolic of his authority; see.
12. the sacred chair of certain African chiefs, symbolic of their kingship.
13. fall between two stools, to fail, through hesitation or indecision, to select either of two alternatives.
v.i.
14. to put forth shoots from the base or root, as a plant; form a stool.
15. Slang. to turn informer; serve as a stool pigeon.
[bef. 900; ME; OE stol; c. G Stuhl, ON stoll, Goth stols chair; all < Gmc *sto- ( < IE root of STAND) + *-l- suffix; akin to OCS stolu throne]

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      armless and backless seat for one person. Folding stools with skin or fabric seats and solid framed stools with wood or rush seats were known to the Egyptians, the early Greeks and Romans, and the Vikings. These stools were supported on four straight legs or on four legs arranged crosswise—the “X” stool. Most variations of stool construction have been reflected either in the padded or hard top or in the support decorations.

      Passing almost unchanged from antiquity into medieval use, the stool remained the common seating form. Late medieval stools, which resembled small benches, were called board, or slab-ended, stools; they were made obsolete by the standard joint stool, which was produced, in the 17th century, in upholstered sets with chairs and footstools.

      The use of stools has often reflected a society's etiquette. In Europe, from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, strict protocol prescribed their use, and in Africa the stool often denotes the office of a tribal chief and carries with it religious symbolism.

      By the 19th century, stools had become primarily rustic or ornamental furniture. The exception was the development of the barstool, a high stool (with or without arms and back) usually fixed to a central post and used in bars and cocktail lounges.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
(without a back) / (from the bowels),


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stool — Stool, n. [AS. st[=o]l a seat; akin to OFries. & OS. st[=o]l, D. stoel, G. stuhl, OHG. stuol, Icel. st[=o]ll, Sw. & Dan. stol, Goth. st[=o]ls, Lith. stalas a table, Russ. stol ; from the root of E. stand. [root]163. See {Stand}, and cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stool|ie — stool|y or stool|ie «STOO lee», noun, plural stool|ies. U.S. Slang. a stool pigeon …   Useful english dictionary

  • stool|y — or stool|ie «STOO lee», noun, plural stool|ies. U.S. Slang. a stool pigeon …   Useful english dictionary

  • stool — [ stul ] noun count * 1. ) a seat that has legs but no support for your back or arms: a bar/piano stool 2. ) TECHNICAL a piece of solid waste from someone s body: stool samples …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • stool — (n.) O.E. stol seat for one person, from P.Gmc. *stolaz (Cf. O.Fris. stol, O.N. stoll, O.H.G. stuol, Ger. Stuhl seat, Goth. stols high seat, throne ), from PIE *sta lo , locative of root *sta to stand (Cf. Lith …   Etymology dictionary

  • stool — [sto͞ol] n. [ME < OE stol, akin to Ger stuhl < IE * stal (> OSlav stolū, throne, seat) < base * sta , to STAND] 1. a) a single seat having three or four legs and no back or arms b) FOOTSTOOL 2. the inside ledge at the bottom of a… …   English World dictionary

  • Stool — Stool, n. [L. stolo. See {Stolon}.] (Hort.) A plant from which layers are propagated by bending its branches into the soil. P. Henderson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stool — Stool, v. i. (Agric.) To ramfy; to tiller, as grain; to shoot out suckers. R. D. Blackmore. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stool — [stu:l] n [: Old English; Origin: stol] 1.) a seat that has three or four legs, but no back or arms ▪ a bar stool 2.) medical a piece of solid waste from your ↑bowels …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • stool — ► NOUN 1) a seat without a back or arms. 2) chiefly Medicine a piece of faeces. 3) a root or stump of a tree or plant from which shoots spring. 4) US a decoy bird in hunting. ● fall between two stools Cf. ↑fall between two stools …   English terms dictionary

  • stool — bar·stool; birth·stool; bishop·stool; close·stool; cuck·stool; de·stool; en·stool; fald·stool; frith·stool; stool; stool·ie; stool·ing; de·stool·ment; …   English syllables

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