staple.
A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
Meaning & usage
A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
Place of supply; source.
The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
A basic or essential supply.
Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.
A recurring topic, character, or item.
Lurid stories are a staple of tabloid journalism.
Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
Tow is flax with short staple.
Unmanufactured material; raw material.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *stapulaz Frankish *stapulbor. Late Latin stapula Old French estaple Anglo-Norman staplebor. Middle English staple English staple From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
To sort according to its staple.
to staple cotton
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *stapulaz Frankish *stapulbor. Late Latin stapula Old French estaple Anglo-Norman staplebor. Middle English staple English staple From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
a staple town
Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
a staple trade
Fit to be sold; marketable.
Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *stapulaz Frankish *stapulbor. Late Latin stapula Old French estaple Anglo-Norman staplebor. Middle English staple English staple From Middle English staple, from Anglo-Norman estaple, Old French estaple (“market, (trading) post”), from Late Latin stapula, from Frankish *stapul, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz (“post”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). Compare staff. Doublet of étape and etymology 2.
Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire. A wire fastener, made of thin wire, used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
They stapled the documents with an office stapler, putting a staple in the top left corner of each one.
Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire. A wire fastener, in any of various sizes, used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
They stapled the housewrap with a staple gun firing large staples.
Any of several types of fastener comprising a bent piece of wire. A U-shaped wire fastener, made of thick wire, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence posts.
One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.
A metal loop used to fasten doors in conjunction with a hasp and a padlock.
A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
A small pit.
A district granted to an abbey.
A post; prop; support
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *stapulaz Proto-West Germanic *stapul Old English stapol Middle English stapel English staple From Middle English stapel (“staple, pillar, post”), from Old English stapol (“post, pillar”), from Proto-West Germanic *stapul, from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). See also Old English steppan (“to step”) and Old French estaple (“post”). Consider also stapes (“stirrup”), from Latin. Doublet of étape and etymology 1.
To secure with a staple.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *stapulaz Proto-West Germanic *stapul Old English stapol Middle English stapel English staple From Middle English stapel (“staple, pillar, post”), from Old English stapol (“post, pillar”), from Proto-West Germanic *stapul, from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ- (“post, stem”). See also Old English steppan (“to step”) and Old French estaple (“post”). Consider also stapes (“stirrup”), from Latin. Doublet of étape and etymology 1.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.