different between steady vs equal

English

Alternative forms

• steddy, stedy

Etymology

From Middle English stede, stedi, stidi?, from Old English stæþþi?, from stæþ (“stead, bank”); equivalent to stathe +? -y or stead +? -y. Cognate with West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, Middle Dutch stedigh, German stätig, stetig.

Pronunciation

• enPR: st?d?i, IPA^(key): /?st?di/

Adjective

steady (comparative steadier, superlative steadiest)

1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.

   • Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute.

   • Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile?; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute.
   • 2003, Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Inserts Only (page 10)

     During programmed changes, no steady green signal indication or flashing yellow signal indication shall be terminated and immediately followed by a steady red or flashing red signal indication without first displaying the steady yellow signal […]

3. Smooth and not bumpy or with obstructions.

4. Regular and even.

5. Slow.

Synonyms

• (firm): robust, solid, untottering
• (constant in purpose or action): dogged, staunch, unyielding; see also Thesaurus:obstinate
• (smooth, not bumpy): fluid
• (regular and even): constant, uniform, unvarying; see also Thesaurus:steady
• (slow): glacial, ponderous, stately; see also Thesaurus:slow

Antonyms

• (regular and even): unsteady; see also Thesaurus:unsteady

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

steady (third-person singular simple present steadies, present participle steadying, simple past and past participle steadied)

1. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To stabilize; to prevent from shaking.

   I took a drink to steady my nerves.

2. (intransitive) To become stable.
   • 2010, Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan

     The ship steadied in the air. Another spray of ballast came, heavier than the last.

Translations

Noun

steady (plural steadies)

1. A rest or support, as for the hand, a tool, or a piece of work.
2. (informal) A regular boyfriend or girlfriend.
   • 2002, Frederick E. Von Burg, Keep My White Sneakers, Kit Carson, iUniverse (?ISBN), page 13:

     “Dalton is my steady, now. If I break up with him, you're the first on the list.” “Thanks,” said Ted. “What a privilege to be second choice.”

3. (informal) A prostitute's regular customer.

Adverb

steady (not comparable)

1. (rowing, informal) To row with pressure at a low stroke-rating, often 18 strokes per minute.

Further reading

• steady in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• steady in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• steady at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• stayed

English

Alternative forms

• æqual (archaic), æquall (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aequ?lis, of unknown origin. Doublet of egal.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?k'w?l, IPA^(key): /?i?kw?l/
• Rhymes: -i?kw?l

Adjective

equal (not generally comparable, comparative more equal, superlative most equal)

1. (not comparable) The same in all respects.
   • 1705, George Cheyne, The Philosophical Principles of Religion Natural and Revealed

     They who are not disposed to receive them may let them alone or reject them; it is equal to me.

2. (mathematics, not comparable) Exactly identical, having the same value.
3. (obsolete) Fair, impartial.
   • Are not my ways equal?
4. (comparable) Adequate; sufficiently capable or qualified.
   • 1881, Jane Austen, Emma, page 311

     her comprehension was certainly more equal to the covert meaning, the superior intelligence, of those five letters so arranged.

   • much less is it in my power to make my commendations equal to your merits.

   • 1842, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Threnody

     […] whose voice an equal messenger / Conveyed thy meaning mild.

5. (obsolete) Not variable; equable; uniform; even.

   • an equal temper

6. (music) Intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female; not mixed.

Usage notes

• In mathematics, this adjective can be used in phrases like "A and B are equal", "A is equal to B", and, less commonly, "A is equal with B".
• The most common comparative use is the ironic expression more equal.

Synonyms

• (the same in all respects): identical
• (the same in all relevant respects): equivalent
• (unvarying): even, fair, uniform, unvarying

Translations

Verb

equal (third-person singular simple present equals, present participle (Commonwealth) equalling or (US) equaling, simple past and past participle (Commonwealth) equalled or (US) equaled)

1. (mathematics, copulative) To be equal to, to have the same value as; to correspond to.

2. (transitive) To make equivalent to; to cause to match.

3. (informal) To have as its consequence.

Synonyms

• (to be equal to): be, is
• (informal, have as its consequence): entail, imply, lead to, mean, result in, spell

Translations

Noun

equal (plural equals)

1. A person or thing of equal status to others.

   • Those who were once his equals envy and defame him.
2. (obsolete) State of being equal; equality.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (person or thing of equal status to others): peer

Derived terms

Related terms

• equality

Translations

Anagrams

• Quale, quale, queal