stool
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a simple seat for one person that has no back or armrests.
n.a backless and armless seat, typically supported by three or four legs or a central pedestal.
Simple“He sat on a high wooden stool at the bar and ordered a coffee.”
In context“The artist preferred a rotating stool while working, as it allowed him to pivot easily between his canvas and the palette table.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a formal or medical word for solid waste that leaves the body.
n.a piece of solid waste discharged from the body; excrement.
Simple“The doctor asked the patient to provide a stool sample for the lab test.”
In context“Changes in stool consistency or frequency can be early clinical indicators of various gastrointestinal disorders.”
UsageOften used in the singular to refer to the substance or a specific sample.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.the base of a plant or tree that has been cut back to the ground to help it grow new shoots.
n.the base of a plant or tree that has been cut back to ground level to encourage the production of new shoots or suckers.
Simple“The gardener cut the shrub down to a stool to encourage fresh growth in the spring.”
In context“In traditional coppicing, the tree is reduced to a stool, from which multiple thin poles emerge over the following seasons.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
v.when a plant grows new stems or shoots from its base.
v.to produce new shoots or suckers from the base or a stump; to tiller.
Simple“After the winter pruning, the old roses began to stool vigorously.”
In context“Certain cereal crops are valued for their ability to stool effectively, increasing the total yield per individual seed planted.”
From Middle English stool, stole, stol, from Old English stōl (“chair, seat, throne”), from Proto-West Germanic stōl, from Proto-Germanic stōlaz (“chair”) (compare West Frisian stoel, Dutch stoel, German Stuhl, Swedish/Norwegian/Danish stol, Finnish tuoli, Estonian tool), from Proto-Indo-European stoh₂los (compare Lithuanian stálas, Russian стол (stol, “table”), Russian стул (stul, “chair”), Serbo-Croatian stol (“table”), Slovene stol (“chair”), Albanian kështallë (“crutch”), Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē, “block of stone used as a prop or buttress to a wall”)), from steh₂- (“to stand”). More at stand. The medical use derives from sense 2 (seat used for defecation).
From Latin stolo. See stolon.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.