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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

STALE, n.¹, v.¹ Also stail(l), †steal; ¶stell (by confusion with Stell, n.¹). [stel]

I. n. 1. A foundation in gen.; specif. in comb. land-stale, the foundation of a pier of a bridge. See also Land, I. 1. Combs. (34).Sc. 1723 W. Macfarlane Geog. Coll. (S.H.S.) I. 313:
The weather bridge of Ardoch which consists of four land stales of stone covered with planks of oak and flags of stone.Sc. 1725 W. Macfarlane Geog. Coll. (S.H.S.) I. 102:
A strong timber bridge with stone land steats [sic].

2. The foundation of a corn or hay-stack, a layer of stones, brushwood or the like on which the sheaves are built (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Lth., Ayr. 1923–26 Wilson; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai; Per., Slg., em.Sc. (b), Lnk., Rxb. 1971). Comb. stale-sheaf, one of the sheaves of corn laid on the foundation of the stack (Sc. 1825 Jam.).Rnf. 1763 Session Papers, Porterfield v. Neilson (3 Aug.) 8:
The Ends of the Stale or Bottom Sheaves of the said two Stacks were likeways rotten.Sc. c.1800 The Elfin Knight in Child Ballads (1882) I. 19:
Ye maun stack it in the sea, And bring the stale hame dry to me.Sc. 1814 J. Sinclair Agric. Scot. I. 391:
A sheaf is first placed upright on its butt end, as nearly as possible in the centre of the stell.Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 91:
They came to the stail, or bottom of the stack.w.Lth. 1868 H. Shanks Poems 129:
Get your bossens a' ready, your stales a' prepared.

†3. The original hive in a colony of bees from which swarms have come off (Sc. 1808 Jam., staill). Cf. E.M.E. stall, id., and see etym. note.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 94:
A bee-man lang the chiel had been, Keep'd mony a winter stale.

II. v. To build (a stack) on a foundation.m.Lth. 1795 G. Robertson Agric. M. Lth. 94:
The stacks are generally staled on a layer of furze, thorns, old straw, stone.