stilt

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English

A girl on stilts (walking poles).
A stilt (bird)

Etymology

From Middle English stilte, stulte, from Old English *stilte, *stylte, from Proto-Germanic *stiltijǭ, *staltijǭ, *stultijǭ (“stilt”), from Proto-Germanic *stelt- (“to be stiff”). Akin to Danish stylte, Dutch stelt, German Stelze.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stɪlt/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪlt

Noun

stilt (plural stilts)

  1. Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.
  2. A tall pillar or post used to support some structure; often above water.
  3. Any of various wading birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, related to the avocet, that have extremely long legs and long thin bills.
  4. A crutch.
  5. The handle of a plough.

Derived terms

Translations

crutch — see crutch

Verb

stilt (third-person singular simple present stilts, present participle stilting, simple past and past participle stilted)

  1. to raise on stilts, or as if on stilts
  2. to apply unnecessary pomp or formality

Further reading

Anagrams

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

Verb

stilt

  1. past participle of stille

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Verb

stilt

  1. past participle of stilla

Etymology 2

Adjective

stilt

  1. neuter singular of still
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