Advertisement

Origin and history of stalling

stalling(n.)

"action of being evasive," 1927, verbal noun from stall (v.2). Earlier it meant "induction into ecclesiastical office" (late 14c.), "action of furnishing with stalls" (1510s). The sense of "condition of coming to an unexpected halt" is by 1808.

also from 1927

Entries linking to stalling

stall(v.2)

1590s, "distract a victim and thus screen a pickpocket from observation," from stall (n.2) in the sense of "decoy." The meaning "prevaricate, be evasive, play for time" is attested from 1903. Related: Stalled; stalling. Compare old slang stalling ken "house for receiving stolen goods" (1560s).

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    shilly-shally
    "to vacillate, hesitate, act in an irresolute manner," 1782, from the adverbial expression to stand shilly-shally (1703), earlier shill I, shall I (1700), a fanciful reduplication of shall I? (compare wishy-washy, dilly-dally, etc.). From 1734 as an adjective, by 1755 as a colloq
    shelter
    1580s, "structure affording protection," also figurative; 1590s, "state of being sheltered;" a word of disputed origin, possibly an alteration of Middle English sheltroun, sheltron, sheldtrume "roof or wall formed by locked shields," also "group of soldiers in tight battle format
    procrastinate
    "to put off till another day, defer to a future time," 1580s, a back formation from procrastination or else from Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare "to put off till tomorrow; defer, delay." Intransitive sense of "be dilatory" is by 1630s. Related: Procrastinat
    post
    "a timber of considerable size set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and from Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," in Medieval Latin "a beam, rod, pole," which is perhaps from Vulgar Latin *por- "forth," a variant
    spot
    c. 1200, "moral stain;" by mid-14c. as "speck, stain left by something on a surface;" probably at least in part from a variant of Old English splott "a spot, blot, patch (of land)," and partly from or related to Middle Dutch spotte "spot, speck." Other cognates are East Frisian s
    stop
    Middle English stoppen, "obstruct (a passage) with a physical barrier; close up by filling, stuffing, or plugging," from Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), a general West Germanic word, cognate with Old Saxon stuppon, West Frisian stopje, Middle Low Germ
    hold-up
    also holdup, 1837, "a stoppage or check," from verbal phrase (see hold (v.) + up (adv.)). The verbal phrase is from late 13c. as "to keep erect; support, sustain;" 1580s as "endure, hold out;" 1590s (intransitive) as "to stop, cease, refrain;" 1860 as "to stay up, not fall." The
    lath
    "thin strip of wood" used chiefly in roof-building and plastering, late 13c., probably from an unrecorded Old English *læððe, variant of lætt "beam, lath," which is apparently from a Proto-Germanic *laþþo (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse latta, Middle Dutch, German latte "lat
    obstruction
    "action of blocking up a way or passage, act of impeding passage or movement; fact of being obstructed," 1530s, from Latin obstructionem (nominative obstructio) "an obstruction, barrier, a building up," noun of action from past-participle stem of obstruere "build up, block, block
    delay
    c. 1300, delaien, "to put off, postpone;" late 14c., "to put off or hinder for a time," from Old French delaiier, from de- "away, from" (see de-) + laier "leave, let." This is perhaps a variant of Old French laissier, from Latin laxare "slacken, undo" (see lax). But Watkins has i

    Share stalling

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near stalling
    Advertisement