dash vs stay

dash

verb
  • To ruin; to destroy. 

  • To leave or depart. 

  • To complete hastily. 

  • To dishearten; to sadden. 

  • To sprinkle; to splatter. 

  • To run quickly or for a short distance. 

  • To destroy by striking (against). 

  • To draw or write quickly; jot. 

  • To throw violently. 

intj
  • Damn! 

noun
  • Violent strike; a whack. 

  • The dashboard of a Tumblr user. 

  • A small quantity of a liquid substance etc.; less than 1/8 of a teaspoon. 

  • Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar). 

  • A rushing or violent onset. 

  • A short run, flight. 

  • Ostentatious vigor. 

  • The longer of the two symbols of Morse code. 

  • A slight admixture. 

  • A bribe or gratuity; a gift. 

  • A dashboard. 

  • A hyphen or minus sign. 

stay

verb
  • To cause to cease; to put an end to. 

  • To live; reside 

  • To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays. 

  • To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back. 

  • To brace or support with a stay or stays 

  • To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide. 

  • To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder. 

  • To continue to have a particular quality. 

  • To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship. 

  • To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power. 

  • To restrain; withhold; check; stop. 

  • To hold the attention of. 

  • To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady. 

  • To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. 

  • To tack; put on the other tack. 

noun
  • A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element. 

  • Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time. 

  • A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing. 

  • A corset. 

  • Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. 

  • A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence. 

  • A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel. 

  • The transverse piece in a chain-cable link. 

  • A prop; a support. 

  • A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment. 

  • A station or fixed anchorage for vessels. 

adj
  • Steep; ascending. 

  • Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer. 

  • Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud. 

  • (of a roof) Steeply pitched. 

adv
  • Steeply. 

How often have the words dash and stay occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )