sty

¹

[ stahy ]

noun

, plural sties.

1. a pen or enclosure for swine; pigpen.
2. any filthy place or abode.
3. a place of bestial debauchery.

verb (used with object)

, stied, sty·ing.

1. to keep or lodge in or as if in a sty.

verb (used without object)

, stied, sty·ing.

1. to live in or as if in a sty.

sty

²

or stye

[ stahy ]

noun

, Ophthalmology.

, plural sties.

1. a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.

sty

/ staɪ /

noun

1. a pen in which pigs are housed and fed
2. any filthy or corrupt place

verb

1. to enclose or be enclosed in a sty

Word History and Origins

Origin of sty¹

First recorded before 1000; (for the noun) Middle English; Old English stī- (as in stī-fearh “sty-pig”), probably identical to stig- in stigweard steward; cognate with Old Norse stī, Dutch stijg, German Steige

Origin of sty²

First recorded in 1610–20; by false division of Middle English styanye, from styan ( Old English stīgend “sty,” literally, “rising”) + ye eye ), misread as sty on eye

Word History and Origins

Origin of sty¹

Old English stig; related to Old Norse stīa pen, fold, Old High German stīga, Middle Dutch stije

Example Sentences

He cited San Francisco, a “pig sty” where there is an app to report human feces on the streets — a city that was cleaned up ahead of a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

From Washington Times

They tried to correct their mistake but got lost near Sty Head Pass and one of the party suffered a panic attack on the steep ground.

From BBC

"The team searched the area on the Borrowdale side of Sty Head Tarn with no luck so proceeded to the stretcher box on Sty Head Pass from where a plan was being formulated to split up and search different paths," the spokesman said.

From BBC

Three piglets on the loose from an abandoned sty were foraging in the city street.

From Reuters

She dropped her last name, much to her father’s dismay, and by the mid-1970s was appearing on episodes of “Police Woman” and “Sanford and Son,” with a starring role in the TV movie adaptation of Phillip Hayes Dean’s play “The Sty of the Blind Pig.”

From Washington Post