Word: stop Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English stoppen, stoppien, from Old English stoppian (“to stop, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, from Proto-Germanic *stuppōną (“to stop, close”), *stuppijaną (“to push, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-, *(s)tewb- (“to push; stick”), from *(s)tew- (“to bump; impact; butt; push; beat; strike; hit”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian stopje (“to stop, block”), West Frisian stopje (“to stop”), Dutch stoppen (“to stop”), Low German stoppen (“to stop”), German stopfen (“to be filling, stuff”), German stoppen (“to stop”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål stoppe (“to stop”), Icelandic, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish stoppa (“to stop”), Middle High German stupfen, stüpfen (“to pierce”). More at stuff, stump. Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (“to stop up with tow”), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (“tow, flax, oakum”), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow". Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance. Pronunciation: /stɒp/, /stɔp/, /stɑp/, [stɔ̟p], /(ɪ)sʈɔp/ 1. A (usually marked) place where buses, trams or trains halt to let passengers get on and off, usually smaller than a station. Example: They agreed to meet at the bus stop. 2. An action of stopping; interruption of travel. Example: That stop was not planned. Example: It is […] doubtful […] whether it contributed anything to the stop of the infection. 3. That which stops, impedes, or obstructs; an obstacle; an impediment. Example: A fatal stop trauerst their headlong course Example: So melancholy a prospect should inspire us with zeal to oppose some stop to the rising torrent. 4. A device intended to block the path of a moving object Example: door stop 5. A device intended to block the path of a moving object 6. A device intended to block the path of a moving object 7. A consonant sound in which the passage of air is temporarily blocked by the lips, tongue, or glottis. 8. A symbol used for purposes of punctuation and representing a pause or separating clauses, particularly a full stop, comma, colon or semicolon. 9. A knob or pin used to regulate the flow of air in an organ. Example: The organ is loudest when all the stops are pulled. 10. One of the vent-holes in a wind instrument, or the place on the wire of a stringed instrument, by the stopping or pressing of which certain notes are produced. 11. A very short shot which touches the ground close behind the net and is intended to bounce as little as possible. 12. A save; preventing the opposition from scoring a goal Example: The Foxes were indebted to two crucial saves from keeper Kasper Schmeichel, who turned former Leicester defender Ben Chilwell's header on to a post then produced an even better stop to turn Mason Mount's powerful shot wide. 13. The depression in a dog’s face between the skull and the nasal bones. Example: The stop in a bulldog's face is very marked. 14. A marking on a rabbit's hind foot. Example: The American Rabbit Breeders Association holds that the stops of a Dutch rabbit should be white from the toes to one third of the way along the foot. 15. A part of a photographic system that reduces the amount of light. 16. A unit of exposure corresponding to a doubling of the brightness of an image. 17. An f-stop. 18. The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses. 19. A coup d'arret, or stop thrust. 20. Ellipsis of full stop. Labels: UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal