steady
adjective
not subject to change or variation especially in behavior
- “a steady beat”
- “a steady job”
- “a steady breeze”
- “a steady increase”
- “a good steady ballplayer”
persistent in occurrence and unvarying in nature
- “maintained a constant temperature”
- “a constant beat”
- “principles of unvarying validity”
- “a steady breeze”
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
- “firm convictions”
- “a firm mouth”
- “steadfast resolve”
- “a man of unbendable perseverence”
- “unwavering loyalty”
verb
noun
adverb
Origin
From Middle English stedy, studi, stidiȝ, perhaps continuing Old English stæþþiġ, ġestæþþiġ (“steadfast, stable, firm, staid”), equivalent to stead + -y; or calquing Middle Low German or Middle Dutch stēdig. Cognate with Saterland Frisian stoadig (“steady”), West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, German stätig, stetig. Compare also Old English ġestedegian (“to bring to a standstill”) and Dutch steeds (“more and more”). Adjective sense 8 is a semantic loan from Singapore Hokkien 在 (chāi, “confident, skilled”, literally “steady”).
Phrases
- go steady
- land of steady habits
- ready, steady, go
- rock steady
- slow and steady wins the race
- steady as a rock
- steady as she goes
- Steady Eddie
- steady the ship
Related words
Word family
Broader terms
Narrower terms
See also
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.