from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Stock \Stock\ (st[o^]k), n. [AS. stocc a stock, trunk, stick;
akin to D. stok, G. stock, OHG. stoc, Icel. stokkr, Sw.
stock, Dan. stok, and AS. stycce a piece; cf. Skr. tuj to
urge, thrust. Cf. {Stokker}, {Stucco}, and {Tuck} a rapier.]
1. The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed,
strong, firm part; the trunk.
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Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and
the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the
scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs
like a plant. --Job xiv.
8,9.
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2. The stem or branch in which a graft is inserted.
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The scion overruleth the stock quite. --Bacon.
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3. A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a
firm support; a post.
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All our fathers worshiped stocks and stones.
--Milton.
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Item, for a stock of brass for the holy water, seven
shillings; which, by the canon, must be of marble or
metal, and in no case of brick. --Fuller.
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4. Hence, a person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or
post; one who has little sense.
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Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks. --Shak.
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5. The principal supporting part; the part in which others
are inserted, or to which they are attached. Specifically:
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(a) The wood to which the barrel, lock, etc., of a rifle
or like firearm are secured; also, a long, rectangular
piece of wood, which is an important part of several
forms of gun carriage.
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(b) The handle or contrivance by which bits are held in
boring; a bitstock; a brace.
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(c) (Joinery) The block of wood or metal frame which
constitutes the body of a plane, and in which the
plane iron is fitted; a plane stock.
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(d) (Naut.) The wooden or iron crosspiece to which the
shank of an anchor is attached. See Illust. of
{Anchor}.
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(e) The support of the block in which an anvil is fixed,
or of the anvil itself.
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(f) A handle or wrench forming a holder for the dies for
cutting screws; a diestock.
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(g) The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer,
which was delivered to the person who had lent the
king money on account, as the evidence of
indebtedness. See {Counterfoil}. [Eng.]
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6. The original progenitor; also, the race or line of a
family; the progenitor of a family and his direct
descendants; lineage; family.
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And stand betwixt them made, when, severally,
All told their stock. --Chapman.
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Thy mother was no goddess, nor thy stock
From Dardanus. --Denham.
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7. (Finance) Money or capital which an individual or a firm
employs in business; fund; in the United States, the
capital of a bank or other company, in the form of
transferable shares, each of a certain amount; money
funded in government securities, called also {the public
funds}; in the plural, property consisting of shares in
joint-stock companies, or in the obligations of a
government for its funded debt; -- so in the United
States, but in England the latter only are called
{stocks}, and the former {shares}.
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8. (Bookkeeping) Same as {Stock account}, below.
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9. Supply provided; store; accumulation; especially, a
merchant's or manufacturer's store of goods; as, to lay in
a stock of provisions.
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Add to that stock which justly we bestow. --Dryden.
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10. (Agric.) Domestic animals or beasts collectively, used or
raised on a farm; as, a stock of cattle or of sheep,
etc.; -- called also {live stock}.
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11. (Card Playing) That portion of a pack of cards not
distributed to the players at the beginning of certain
games, as gleek, etc., but which might be drawn from
afterward as occasion required; a bank.
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I must buy the stock; send me good cardings.
--Beau. & Fl.
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12. A thrust with a rapier; a stoccado. [Obs.]
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13. [Cf. {Stocking}.] A covering for the leg, or leg and
foot; as, upper stocks (breeches); nether stocks
(stockings). [Obs.]
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With a linen stock on one leg. --Shak.
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14. A kind of stiff, wide band or cravat for the neck; as, a
silk stock.
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15. pl. A frame of timber, with holes in which the feet, or
the feet and hands, of criminals were formerly confined
by way of punishment.
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He shall rest in my stocks. --Piers
Plowman.
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16. pl. (Shipbuilding) The frame or timbers on which a ship
rests while building.
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17. pl. Red and gray bricks, used for the exterior of walls
and the front of buildings. [Eng.]
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18. (Bot.) Any cruciferous plant of the genus {Matthiola};
as, common stock ({Matthiola incana}) (see
{Gilly-flower}); ten-weeks stock ({Matthiola annua}).
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19. (Geol.) An irregular metalliferous mass filling a large
cavity in a rock formation, as a stock of lead ore
deposited in limestone.
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20. A race or variety in a species.
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21. (Biol.) In tectology, an aggregate or colony of persons
(see {Person}), as trees, chains of salpae, etc.
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22. The beater of a fulling mill. --Knight.
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23. (Cookery) A liquid or jelly containing the juices and
soluble parts of meat, and certain vegetables, etc.,
extracted by cooking; -- used in making soup, gravy, etc.
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24. Raw material; that out of which something is
manufactured; as, paper stock.
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25. (Soap Making) A plain soap which is made into toilet soap
by adding perfumery, coloring matter, etc.
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{Bit stock}. See {Bitstock}.
{Dead stock} (Agric.), the implements of husbandry, and
produce stored up for use; -- in distinction from live
stock, or the domestic animals on the farm. See def. 10,
above.
{Head stock}. See {Headstock}.
{Paper stock}, rags and other material of which paper is
made.
{Stock account} (Bookkeeping), an account on a merchant's
ledger, one side of which shows the original capital, or
stock, and the additions thereto by accumulation or
contribution, the other side showing the amounts
withdrawn.
{Stock car}, a railway car for carrying cattle.
{Stock company} (Com.), an incorporated company the capital
of which is represented by marketable shares having a
certain equal par value.
{Stock duck} (Zool.), the mallard.
{Stock exchange}.
(a) The building or place where stocks are bought and
sold; stock market; hence, transactions of all kinds
in stocks.
(b) An association or body of stockbrokers who meet and
transact business by certain recognized forms,
regulations, and usages. --Wharton. Brande & C.
{Stock farmer}, a farmer who makes it his business to rear
live stock.
{Stock gillyflower} (Bot.), the common stock. See {Stock},
n., 18.
{Stock gold}, gold laid up so as to form a stock, or hoard.
{Stock in trade}, the goods kept for sale by a shopkeeper;
the fittings and appliances of a workman. --Simmonds.
{Stock list}, a list of stocks, or shares, dealt in, of
transactions, and of prices.
{Stock lock}, a lock inclosed in a wooden case and attached
to the face of a door.
{Stock market}.
(a) A place where stocks are bought and sold; the stock
exchange.
(b) A market for live stock.
{Stock pigeon}. (Zool.) Same as {Stockdove}.
{Stock purse}.
(a) A common purse, as distinguished from a private
purse.
(b) (Mil.) Moneys saved out of the expenses of a company
or regiment, and applied to objects of common
interest. [Eng.]
{Stock shave}, a tool used by blockmakers.
{Stock station}, a place or district for rearing stock.
[Australia] --W. Howitt.
{Stock tackle} (Naut.), a tackle used when the anchor is
hoisted and secured, to keep its stock clear of the ship's
sides. --Totten.
{Stock taking}, an examination and inventory made of goods or
stock in a shop or warehouse; -- usually made
periodically.
{Tail stock}. See {Tailstock}.
{To have something on the stock}, to be at work at something.
{To take stock}, to take account of stock; to make an
inventory of stock or goods on hand. --Dickens.
{To take stock in}.
(a) To subscribe for, or purchase, shares in a stock
company.
(b) To put faith in; to accept as trustworthy; as, to
take stock in a person's fidelity. [Slang]
{To take stock of}, to take account of the stock of; to take
an inventory of; hence, to ascertain the facts in regard
to (something). [Eng.]
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At the outset of any inquiry it is proper to take
stock of the results obtained by previous explorers
of the same field. --Leslie
Stephen.
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Syn: Fund; capital; store; supply; accumulation; hoard;
provision.
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