English
still
see also: Still
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /stɪl/
    • (RP, America) IPA: [stɪɫ]
    • (l-vocalizing:, _, British, Australia, New Zealand) IPA: [stɪo̯], [stɪʊ̯]
Etymology 1

From Middle English stille, from Old English stille, from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH-.

Adjective

still (comparative stiller, superlative stillest)

  1. Not moving; calm.
    Sit there and stay still!
    Still waters run deep.
  2. Not effervescing; not sparkling.
    still water; still wines
  3. Uttering no sound; silent.
    • c. 1711, Joseph Addison, How are thy Servants blest, O Lord!:
      The sea that roared at thy command, / At thy command was still.
  4. (not comparable) Having the same stated quality continuously from a past time
  5. Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 1 Kings 19:12 ↗:
      […] a still small voice.
  6. (obsolete) Constant; continual.
    • c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:
      By still practice learn to know thy meaning.
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC ↗, Canto XLV, page 68 ↗:
      […] A lifelong tract of time reveal’d;
      ⁠The fruitful hours of still increase;
      ⁠Days order’d in a wealthy peace,
      And those five years its richest field.
Synonyms Translations Translations
  • French: plate
  • German: still
  • Italian: naturale, non gassata, non effervescente, non frizzante
Translations Translations Translations Adverb

still (not comparable)

  1. Without motion.
    They stood still until the guard was out of sight.
  2. (aspect) Up to a time, as in the preceding time.
    Is it still raining?   It was still raining five minutes ago.
    We’ve seen most of the sights, but we are still visiting the museum.
    I’m still not wise enough to answer that.
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC ↗:
      It hath been anciently reported, and is still received.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:
      Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
      Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
  3. (degree) To an even greater degree. Used to modify comparative adjectives or adverbs.
    Tom is tall; Dick is taller; Harry is still taller / Harry is taller still.
    • 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC ↗:
      The guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed.
  4. (conjunctive) Nevertheless.
    I’m not hungry, but I’ll still manage to find room for dessert.
    Yeah, but still...
    • 1817, Thomas Moore, Lalla-Rookh:
      As sunshine, broken in the rill, / Though turned astray, is sunshine still.
  5. (archaic, poetic) Always; invariably; constantly; continuously.
    • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii], lines 201–202:
      Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion.
    • 1661, Robert Boyle, “[Two Essays, Concerning the Unsuccessfulness of Experiments, Containing Divers Admonitions and Observations (Chiefly Chymical) Touching that Subject.] The Second Essay, of Un-succeeding Experiments.”, in Certain Physiological Essays and Other Tracts; […], 2nd edition, London: […] Henry Herringman […], published 1669, →OCLC ↗, page 78 ↗:
      [W]hereas many Chymiſts vvould be vaſtly rich, if they could ſtill do in great Quantities vvhat they have ſometimes done in little ones, many have undone themſelves by obſtinately attempting to make even real Experiments more gainful.
    • 1712 January 2 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, December 22, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 255; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC ↗:
      The desire of fame betrays an ambitious man into indecencies that lessen his reputation; he is still afraid lest any of his actions should be thrown away in private.
      The spelling has been modernized.
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC ↗, Canto XLI, page 64 ↗:
      I vex my heart with fancies dim:
      ⁠He still outstript me in the race;
      ⁠It was but unity of place
      That made me dream I rank’d with him.
  6. (extensive) Even, yet.
    Some dogs howl; more yelp; still more bark.
  7. Alternative spelling of styll
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

still (plural stills)

  1. A period of calm or silence.
    the still of the night
  2. (photography) A photograph, as opposed to movie footage.
    1. (cinematography) A single frame from a film.
  3. (slang) A resident of the Falkland Islands.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Etymology 2

Via , ultimately from Latin stilla.

Noun

still (plural stills)

  1. A device for distilling liquids.
  2. (catering) A large water boiler used to make tea and coffee.
  3. (catering) The area in a restaurant used to make tea and coffee, separate from the main kitchen.
  4. A building where liquors are distilled; a distillery.
Translations Translations Etymology 3

From Old English stillan.

Verb

still (stills, present participle stilling; simple past and past participle stilled)

  1. To calm down, to quiet.
    to still the raging sea
Synonyms Translations Etymology 4

Aphetic form of distil, or from Latin stillare.

Verb

still (stills, present participle stilling; simple past and past participle stilled)

  1. (obsolete) To trickle, drip.
  2. To cause to fall by drops.
  3. To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill.
    • 1557 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), Thomas Tusser, A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC ↗; republished London: […] Robert Triphook, […], and William Sancho, […], 1810, →OCLC ↗:
      The knowledge of stilling is one pretty feat,
      The waters be wholesome, the charges not great
Still
Proper noun
  1. Surname.


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