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Added 9 October 2026

still

/ˈstɪl/ adjective

Categories: Describing WordsEveryday Words

In Latin: immobilis Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about still at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Not moving; calm.
    Sit there and stay still!
  2. Not effervescing; not sparkling.
    still water; still wines
  3. Uttering no sound; silent.

adverb

  1. Without motion.
    They stood still until the guard was out of sight.
  2. Up to a time, as in the preceding time.
    Is it still raining? It was still raining five minutes ago.
  3. 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.

noun

  1. A period of calm or silence.
    the still of the night
  2. A photograph, as opposed to movie footage. A single frame from a film.
  3. A single frame from a film.

noun

  1. A device for distilling liquids.
  2. A large water boiler used to make tea and coffee.
  3. The area in a restaurant used to make tea and coffee, separate from the main kitchen.

Origin

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: unmovingstock-stillnonmovingmotionlesssilencesilentquietinactivetranquilquietenhushplacid

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