STAYS, noun plural 1. A bodice; a kind of waistcoat stiffened with whalebone or other thing, worn by females. 2. stays of a ship. [See Stay.] 3. Station; fixed anchorage. 4. Any support; that which keeps another extended. Weavers, stretch your stays upon the weft.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI