(a) A piece of wood, a cutting from a tree; the limb of a tree; fig. a dull person [cp. MnE idiom 'a dull stick']; drien the ~, ?to take an irrevocable action; (b) a splinter; a thorn; also fig. [2nd quot.; cp. sense 4.(c)]; (c) a piece of wood used as a weapon or a walking stick, a staff.

A post or stake, presumably wooden, placed in the earth usu. for a particular purpose: (a) a post to which someone is tied for execution, punishment, or restraint; a post to which a bear is tied for bear-baiting; also, a stake or peg to which a horse is tethered; driven to the ~, fig. forced to the last extremity; (b) a stake used to mark a position or boundary; also fig.; also, a signpost; ale ~, a tavern sign [see also ale n. 4.(e)]; mere ~; (c) a support for a plant; (d) ?a post on which a gambling wager is placed; also, ?a gamble, risk [1st quot.]; (e) a post used to represent an adversary during sword practice; (f) a peg or stake to which the ropes of a tent are fastened; pullen up rop and ~, to break camp; pullen up stakes, fig. abandon a position; (g) a stake or post driven into the ground; ~ hed; stonden (still) as a ~, stonden as it were a ~, stonden ~ fast, to stand still.

A stake, usu. wooden, used in combination with others for a particular purpose; -- usu. pl.: (a) as part of a hedge or as a paling in a fence; also, as part of an enclosure; (b) as one of the pointed stakes forming a defensive palisade; also, as part of a trap for an animal; (c) as part of a fence set in a river, usu. for catching fish; also, as part of an obstruction on a roadway.

In misc. uses: (a) a base or support made of brass or silver; one of three sticks used as a support for a pot; a peg to hang something on; ?some sort of stake or spike used to lock a door; also, a digging tool [quot. a1382, 4th]; ~ nail, ?tacks; fot ~, a base or support; (b) a rung of a ladder; also fig.; ?also, an upright of a ladder [quot. c1415]; (c) a pain; ~ in the side.

In surnames and place names [see Smith PNElem. 2.141].