Haystack

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈheɪˌstæk/

Definitions

1. A large pile or heap of dried grass used as animal fodder ; a metaphorical phrase describing a vast amount of material among which it is difficult to find a small item
2. A mass of cut and dried grass stacked for storage or feeding livestock ; an expression highlighting the challenge of locating something tiny amid a large, cluttered space
3. An accumulation of hay gathered together for feeding purposes ; a figurative term for a situation where finding a specific item is very difficult due to overwhelming quantity

Etymology: Haystack is a plain compound, and its history is mostly a matter of two English words placed side by side. "Hay" comes from Old English "hieg," meaning grass cut and dried for fodder, and "stack" is a pile or heap, so the word simply names a heap of cut hay. The Middle English form "haystak" or "haystake" shows the two parts already fused into one noun by the later medieval period. The figurative sense, a needle hidden in a haystack, is the more interesting development. Once a farm word for a practical pile of fodder, it became a shorthand for any huge quantity of material in which one small thing is hard to locate. The image works because a single needle would be nearly impossible to spot in a heap of loose hay, so the phrase took on the sense of searching for something almost lost in sheer bulk.

Synonyms: stack, pile