still¹ / stil/ • adj. not moving or making a sound: the still body of the young man. ∎  (of air or water) undisturbed by wind, sound, or current; calm and tranquil: her voice carried on the still air a still autumn day. ∎  (of a drink such as wine) not effervescent; compare with sparkle.• n. 1. deep silence and calm; stillness: the still of the night.2. an ordinary static photograph as opposed to a motion picture, esp. a single shot from a movie.• adv. 1. without moving: the sheriff commanded him to stand still and drop the gun.2. up to and including the present or the time mentioned; even now (or then) as formerly: he still lives with his mother it was still raining. ∎  referring to something that will or may happen in the future: we could still win.3. nevertheless; all the same: I'm afraid he's crazy. Still, he's harmless.4. even (used with comparatives for emphasis): write, or better still, type, captions for the pictures Hank, already sweltering, began to sweat still more profusely.• v. make or become still; quieten: [tr.] she raised her hand, stilling Erica's protests | [intr.] the din in the hall stilled. PHRASES: still and all inf. nevertheless; even so.still small voice the voice of one's conscience (with reference to 1 Kings 19:12).DERIVATIVES: still·ness n.still² • n. an apparatus for distilling alcoholic drinks such as whiskey.

STILL

Still is the colloquial term for distillery, a device used for Distillation—to extract ethyl alcohol (ethanol) from various plants and food products. The simplest ones contain a cooking pot and a tightly fitted cap from which a long arm extends in a downward direction. A mash is boiled, the ethyl alcohol rises to the top and is deposited as a vapor which then condenses as it cools and passes through the arm.

(See also: Alcohol: History of Drinking )

Scott E. Lukas

still1 not moving; (dial.) silent; free from commotion. OE. stille = OS., OHG. stilli (Du. stil, G. still) :- WGmc. *stillja. still life XVII; after Du. stilleven; presumably applied orig. to representation of living things in a state of rest.
So still vb. quiet, calm. OE. stillan = OS. (gi)stillian trans., stillon intr., OHG. stillen trans., stillēn intr., ON. stilla. still adv. without change of position OE.; †quietly; †without change or cessation, always XIII; until then or now XVI; in or to a further degree; (as sentence adv.) even then, notwithstanding XVII. OE. stille = OS., OHG. stillo (Du. stil, G. stille) :- WGmc. *stillō. stilly (-Y1) †secret XIII; (poet.) quiet XVIII. prob. f. the adv. OE. stillīċe (see -LY2).

still still life a painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects, typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware. The term is recorded from the late 17th century, in John Dryden's translation of Du Fresnoy's De Arte Graphica (1695), and was influenced by Dutch stilleven in the same sense.
a still tongue makes a wise head proverbial saying, mid 16th century; meaning that a person who is not given to idle talk, and who listens to others, is likely to be wise.
still waters run deep proverbial saying, early 15th century; now commonly used to assert that a placid exterior hides a passionate nature.

still2 apparatus for distillation. XVI. f. †still vb. (XIII), aphetic of DISTIL.