stuff

n. [ OF. estoffe, F. étoffe; of uncertain origin, perhaps of Teutonic origin and akin to E. stop, v.t. Cf. Stuff, v. t. ] 1. Material which is to be worked up in any process of manufacture. [ 1913 Webster ]

For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. Ex. xxxvi. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ambitions should be made of sterner stuff. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The workman on his stuff his skill doth show,
And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The fundamental material of which anything is made up; elemental part; essence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience
To do no contrived murder. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Woven material not made into garments; fabric of any kind; specifically, any one of various fabrics of wool or worsted; sometimes, worsted fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

What stuff wilt have a kirtle of? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

It [ the arras ] was of stuff and silk mixed, though, superior kinds were of silk exclusively. F. G. Lee. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils. [ 1913 Webster ]

He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A medicine or mixture; a potion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language; nonsense; trash. [ 1913 Webster ]

Anger would indite
Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Naut.) A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication. Ham. Nav. Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Paper stock ground ready for use. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When partly ground, called half stuff. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

Clear stuff. See under Clear. --
Small stuff (Naut.), all kinds of small cordage. Ham. Nav. Encyc. --
Stuff gown, the distinctive garb of a junior barrister; hence, a junior barrister himself. See Silk gown, under Silk. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To feed gluttonously; to cram. [ 1913 Webster ]

Taught harmless man to cram and stuff. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, stuffs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being stuffy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which is used for filling anything; as, the stuffing of a saddle or cushion. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Cookery) Any seasoning preparation used to stuff meat; especially, a composition of bread, condiments, spices, etc.; forcemeat; dressing. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A mixture of oil and tallow used in softening and dressing leather. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stuffing box, a device for rendering a joint impervious where there is a hole through which a movable cylindrical body, as the paston rod of a steam engine, or the plunger of a pump, slides back and forth, or in which a shaft turns. It usually consists of a box or chamber, made by an enlargement of part of the hole, forming a space around the rod or shaft for containing packing which is compressed and made to fill the space closely by means of a sleeve, called the gland, which fits loosely around the rod, and is pressed upon the packing by bolts or other means. [ 1913 Webster ]