stick

Everyday

1. A stick is a thin piece of wood, often fallen from a tree. tree →
2. A stick is a long thin thing: a walking stick, a hockey stick, a glue stick, a stick of celery. tree →
3. To stick is to fix one thing to another with glue or tape. tree →
4. To stick is to push a pointed thing into something: stick a pin in. tree →
5. To stick is to become fixed and unable to move: the door sticks. tree →
6. To stick with something is to keep doing it. tree →
7. Stick can also be an informal, affectionate name for a friend, as in "old stick". tree →

In the lessons

Maths: a thing counted (sticks, ice-cream sticks, glue sticks); to stick stickers onto a page: «sticks 5 on each page» is a rate. Counting sticks and tally sticks in early maths. Everyday: stick together, stick to the rules, stick out your tongue, stick up for someone. Safety: don't run with a stick.

Examples

• Tom collected 24 sticks for the fire. tree →
• Each pack has 6 glue sticks. tree →
• She sticks 5 stickers on each page. tree →
• A stick is 30 centimeters long. tree →
• The dog fetched the stick from the river. tree →
• Grandpa walks with a stick. tree →
• Stick the picture into your book. tree →
• Friends stick together. tree →
• Stick to the path in the forest. tree →
• “OLD Stick!” said the Rocket, “impossible! tree →

Note

Irregular verb: stick, stuck, stuck. As a noun just the thing counted; «sticks 5 on each page» is a rate, so the total is pages × 5. Trap: «stuck» can mean «not able to move». Sticky = covered in something that sticks.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah, "sticks" are wood gathered for fire, and the "candlestick" is the lampstand of the Tabernacle with its branches. In the Writings "stick" can also mean to cling together, as Leviathan's scales do. In Ezekiel, two sticks with names written on them are a sign that Israel and Judah will be joined, and in Kings Elisha uses a stick to make an iron axe-head float.

Interpretation. The man gathering sticks on the sabbath is punished because Sabbath rest forbids such work, and the rabbis use the story to teach how serious the Sabbath is. The branched lampstand became the menorah, a lasting symbol of Judaism. Ezekiel's two sticks are read as a promise that the divided kingdoms will be reunited.

Examples

• And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. (Torah NUM.15.33, JPS 1917) tree →
• And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks upon the sabbath day. (Torah NUM.15.32, JPS 1917) tree →
• And there shall be six branches going out of the sides thereof: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candle-stick out of the other side thereof; (Torah EXO.25.32, JPS 1917) tree →
• They are joined one to another; they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. (Writings JOB.41.9, JPS 1917) tree →
• And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes. (Prophets EZK.37.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. (Prophets 2KI.6.6, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Irregular verb: stick, stuck, stuck. As a noun just the thing counted; «sticks 5 on each page» is a rate, so the total is pages × 5. Trap: «stuck» can mean «not able to move». Sticky = covered in something that sticks.