R E F E R E N C E S
1 Stable 1. not likely to overturn or collapse. 2. able or likely to continue or last; enduring or permanent. 3. resistant to sudden change or deterioration. 4. reliable and steady, as in character, emotions , or attitudes. 5. Physics. having the ability to react to a disturbing force by maintaining or reestablishing position, form, etc. 6. Chem. not readily decomposing, as a compound; resisting molecular or chemical change. [ME < OF (e)stable < L Stabil(is) STABILE]
-Syn. 1. fixed, strong, sturdy.
Stabilize 1. to make or hold stable, firm, or steadfast. 2. to maintain at a given or unfluctuating level or quality. 3. to become stabilized.
Stabile 1. fixed in position; stable. 2. a stationary, abstract sculpture that presents different forms as the viewer walks around it. Cf. mobile. [< L stabilis = Sta- (s. of stáre to stand) + -bilis -ble]
Stability 1. the state or quality of being stable. 2. firmness in position. 3. continuance without change; permanence. 4. Chem. resistance or the degree of resistance to chemical change or disintegration. 5. resistance to change, esp. sudden change or deterioration. 6. reliable steadiness, as of character. 7. the ability of an object to maintain or restore its equilibrium when acted upon by forces tending to displace it. 8. a vow that binds a monk to reside for life in one monastery. [< L stabilitát- (s. of stabilitás): See Stabile, -ty; r. ME stablete < OF < L] -Syn. 6. strength.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House,1968.]
Stability [14c] 1: the quality, state, or degree of being stable: as a: the strength to stand or endure: Firmness b: the property of a body that causes it when disturbed from a conditin of equilibrium or steady motion to develop forces or moments that restore the original condition c: resistance to chemical change or to physical disintegration . . . [Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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