Difference between revisions of "Staid - stayed"
From Hull AWE
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These two homophones are sometimes confused. They shouldn’t be. | These two homophones are sometimes confused. They shouldn’t be. | ||
| − | *'''Stayed''' is the commoner word. It is the past tense and the past participle of the verb | + | *'''Stayed''' is the commoner word. It is the past tense and the past participle of the verb '''to stay'''. Examples: ‘he stayed with his parents last night’; ‘I have often stayed in Wales’; ‘the mast is stayed with guy-ropes against the wind’. |
*'''Staid''' is the less usual word. It is an adjective with the meaning of ‘dull’, ‘not very exciting’, ‘set in one’s ways’. It might be used with a sense of faint disapproval: ‘they live a very staid life – they never go out’, or ‘it is often believed that librarians are very staid people’. | *'''Staid''' is the less usual word. It is an adjective with the meaning of ‘dull’, ‘not very exciting’, ‘set in one’s ways’. It might be used with a sense of faint disapproval: ‘they live a very staid life – they never go out’, or ‘it is often believed that librarians are very staid people’. | ||
[[Category:Homophones]] [[Category:Usage]] | [[Category:Homophones]] [[Category:Usage]] | ||
Revision as of 11:09, 19 February 2007
These two homophones are sometimes confused. They shouldn’t be.
- Stayed is the commoner word. It is the past tense and the past participle of the verb to stay. Examples: ‘he stayed with his parents last night’; ‘I have often stayed in Wales’; ‘the mast is stayed with guy-ropes against the wind’.
- Staid is the less usual word. It is an adjective with the meaning of ‘dull’, ‘not very exciting’, ‘set in one’s ways’. It might be used with a sense of faint disapproval: ‘they live a very staid life – they never go out’, or ‘it is often believed that librarians are very staid people’.
