Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - stay

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English st?g; akin to Old Norse stag ~  Date: before 12th century  1. a large strong rope usually of wire used to support a mast  2. guy I  II. verb  Date: 1627  transitive verb  1. to secure upright with or as if with ~s  2. to incline (a mast) forward, aft, or to one side by the ~s  intransitive verb to go about ; tack  III. verb  (~ed; also staid; ~ing)  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estei-, estai-, stem of ester to stand, ~, from Latin stare — more at stand  Date: 15th century  intransitive verb  1. to stop going forward ; pause  2. to stop doing something ; cease  3. to continue in a place or condition ; remain ~ed up all night went for a short vacation but ~ed on for weeks ~ put till I come back  4. to stand firm  5. to take up residence ; lodge  6. to keep even in a contest or rivalry ~ with the leaders  7. to call a poker bet without raising  8. obsolete to be in waiting or attendance  transitive verb  1. to wait for ; await  2. to stick or remain with (as a race or trial of endurance) to the end — usually used in the phrase ~ the course  3. to remain during ~ed the whole time  4.  a. to stop or delay the proceeding or advance of by or as if by interposing an obstacle ; halt ~ an execution  b. to check the course of (as a disease)  c. allay, pacify ~ed tempers  d. to quiet the hunger of temporarily  Synonyms: see defer  IV. noun  Date: 1536  1.  a. the action of halting ; the state of being stopped  b. a stopping or suspension of procedure or execution by judicial or executive order  2. obsolete self-control, moderation  3. a residence or sojourn in a place  4. capacity for endurance  V. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French estaie, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch stake pole, Middle Low German stak post, stake pole — more at stake  Date: 14th century  1. one that serves as a prop ; support  2. a thin firm strip (as of plastic) used for stiffening a garment or part (as a shirt collar)  3. a corset stiffened with bones — usually used in plural  VI. transitive verb  Date: 1548  1. to provide physical or moral support for ; sustain  2. to fix on something as a foundation