Since fluidness and stability are contary qualities.
Boyle.
Syn. -- Steadiness; stableness; constancy; immovability; firmness.
Sta"ble (?), a. [OE. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to
stand. See Stand, v. i. and cf. Establish.] 1. Firmly established; not
easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government.
In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable.
Rogers.
2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted
from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character.
And to her husband ever meek and stable.
Chaucer.
3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable
foundation; a stable position.
Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed
that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case
when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; --
opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed does
not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away
from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center
of gravity. Cf. Neutral equilibrium, under Neutral.
Syn. -- Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.
Sta"ble, v. t. To fix; to establish. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Sta"ble, n. [OF. estable, F. étable, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to
stand. See Stand, v. i.] A house, shed, or building, for beasts to
lodge and feed in; esp., a building or apartment with stalls, for
horses; as, a horse stable; a cow stable. Milton.
Stable fly (Zoöl.), a common dipterous fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) which
is abundant about stables and often enters dwellings, especially in
autumn. These files, unlike the common house files, which they
resemble, bite severely, and are troublesome to horses and cattle.
Sta"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stabling
(?).] To put or keep in a stable.
Sta"ble, v. i. To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed
place; to kennel. Milton.
{ Sta"ble*boy` (?), Sta"ble*man (?) }, n. A boy or man who attends in a
stable; a groom; a hostler.
Sta"ble*ness, n. The quality or state of being stable, or firmly
established; stability.
Sta"bler (?), n. A stable keeper. De Foe.
Sta"ble stand` (?). (O.Eng. Law) The position of a man who is found at
his standing in the forest, with a crossbow or a longbow bent, ready to
shoot at a deer, or close by a tree with greyhounds in a leash ready to
slip; -- one of the four presumptions that a man intends stealing the
king's deer. Wharton.
Sta"bling (?), n. 1. The act or practice of keeping horses and cattle
in a stable.