stage

[[t]steɪdʒ[/t]]

n. v. staged, stag•ing

1) a phase, degree, or step in a process, development, or series

2) a raised platform or floor, as for speakers or performers

3) sbz

a) the platform on which the actors perform in a theater

b) this platform with all the parts of the theater and all the apparatus back of the proscenium

4) sbz the stage, the theater, esp. acting, as a profession

5) mot sbz

sound stage

6) the scene of any action

7) trs a stagecoach

8) a place of rest on a journey, esp. a regular stopping place of a stagecoach

9) the distance between two places of rest on a journey

10) a portion or period of a course of action or of life:

the pupal stage of an insect[/ex]

11) gel a division of stratified rocks corresponding to a single geologic age

12) opt the small platform of a microscope on which the object to be examined is placed

13) rtv elo an element or functional unit of an electronic system, as a circuit containing a section of one of the tubes or transistors of an amplifier

14) rkt a section of a rocket containing one or more engines, usu. designed to separate after burnout

15) sbz to represent, produce, or exhibit on or as if on a stage:

to stage a play[/ex]

16) sbz to furnish with a stage, staging, stage set, etc

17) sbz to set (a play) in a specified locale or time

18) to plan, organize, or carry out, esp. for public or dramatic effect:

Workers staged a one-day strike[/ex]

19) med to classify the natural progression of (a disease, esp. cancer)

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Etymology: 1250–1300; ME (n.) < OF estage < VL *staticum standing place =stat(us), ptp. ofstāreto stand+-icum, neut. of -icus -ic stage′a•ble, adj.