stalk

• n. （植物的）莖，稈；（支持葉子、果實和花的）梗，柄；追蹤；高視闊步
• vt. 追蹤，潛近；高視闊步
• vi. 高視闊步地走；潛近，偷偷接近

來自中古英語 stalke,小杆，小柱，小詞形式於 stale,來自古英語 stalu,直柱，立柱，來自 Proto-Germanic*stallaz,放置，固定位置，來自 PIE*stel,放置，站立，詞源同 stall,stand.引申 詞義葉柄，花莖等。

可能來自 steal,偷，偷偷摸摸，-k,表強調，比較 hear,hark,tell,talk.引申詞義跟蹤，盯梢等。

stalk

stalk: English has two distinct words stalk. The noun, ‘plant stem’ [14], probably originated as a diminutive form of the now extinct stale ‘long handle’, a word distantly related to Greek steleá ‘handle’. The verb, ‘track stealthily’ [OE], goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *stalkōjan, which was formed from the same base as produced English steal. The sense ‘walk haughtily’, diametrically opposed to ‘track stealthily’, emerged in the 16th century.

stalk (n.)

"stem of a plant," early 14c., probably a diminutive (with -k suffix) of stale "one of the uprights of a ladder, handle, stalk," from Old English stalu "wooden part" (of a tool or instrument), from Proto-Germanic *stalla- (cognates: Old English steala "stalk, support," steall "place"), from PIE *stol-no-, suffixed form of *stol-, variant of root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)). Of similar structures in animals from 1826.

stalk (v.1)

"pursue stealthily," Old English -stealcian, as in bestealcian "to steal along, walk warily," from Proto-Germanic *stalkon, frequentative of PIE *stel-, possibly a variant of *ster- (3) "to rob, steal" (see steal (v.)). Compare hark/hear, talk/tell). In another view the Old English word might be from a sense of stalk (v.1), influenced by stalk (n.). Meaning "harass obsessively" first recorded 1991. Related: Stalked; stalking.

A stalking-horse in literal use was a horse draped in trappings and trained to allow a fowler to conceal himself behind it to get within range of the game; figurative sense of "person who participates in a proceeding to disguise its real purpose" is recorded from 1610s.

stalk (v.2)

"walk haughtily" (nearly the opposite meaning of stalk (v.1)), 1520s, perhaps from stalk (n.) with a notion of "long, awkward strides," or from Old English stealcung "a stalking, act of going stealthily," related to stealc "steep, lofty."

1. Once again there'stalk of very dark days ahead.

又有傳言說以後的日子會非常艱難。

來自柯林斯例句

2. The lion will often stalk its prey for hours.

獅子經常悄然跟蹤獵物達幾個小時。

來自《權威詞典》

3. A sesame stalk puts forth blossoms notch by notch, higher and higher.

芝麻開花節節高.

來自《現代漢英綜合大詞典》

4. A single pale blue flower grows up from each joint on a long stalk.

一條長長的莖稈的每個節上都會長出一朵淺藍色的花。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Police officers lie in wait for the gangs who stalk their prey at night.

警察設伏等待那些在晚上跟蹤目標伺機作案的歹徒。

來自柯林斯例句