stack English · revision 10307

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=non stakkr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stæk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English stak, [[bor|non|stakkr|t=haystack]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) compare Danish stak and Swedish stack,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Proto-Germanic *stakon-, a stake,^(Etymonline) related to Old English staca, a stake (see [[stake]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and said to be from PIE *stog-, source also of Russian [[m|ru|стог|tr=stog|t=haystack]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A pile, heap or group of things, especially a pile of grain in the sheaf: about 1300, in ''Havelok the Dane'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) earlier as a surname (1199).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A pile of firewood or sticks is from 1390.^(OED 1989) A number of chimneys or pipes standing together is from 1667,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and a single chimney of a factory, locomotive or steamship from 1825.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A set of library shelves is from 1879,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) a pile of aircraft circling at different heights from 1947,^(OED 1989) and in computing a store in which the last item in is the first out from 1960.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to pile up grain, is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and to arrange a deck of cards unfairly, ''stack the deck'', from 1825.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''To stack up'', to compare, is from 1903, from piles of poker chips.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a pile of grain.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – to pile up (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1667 – a stack of chimneys.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1825 – a chimney; to stack cards.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1879 – book stacks.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1947 – an aircraft stack.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1960 – a computer stack.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An orderly [[pile]] or heap, especially one in layers.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large pile of hay or straw stored outdoors.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A chimney or group of chimneys, or a vertical exhaust pipe.^(AHD)

+ # ''(often stacks)'' Shelves of books in a library.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A large amount: ''a stack of work''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' An area of memory in which the item most recently stored is the first retrieved.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To arrange in a stack; to pile up.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To arrange cards or circumstances unfairly in one's favour.^(AHD)

+ # To direct aircraft to circle at different heights while waiting to land.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stackable]]

+ * [[stacker]]

+ * [[stackless]]

+ * [[bookstack]]

+ * [[haystack]]

+ * [[smokestack]]

+ * [[restack]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stacked]]

+ * [[unstack]]

+ * [[stake]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}