Stage

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /steɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. A raised platform where performances, speeches, or presentations take place before an audience
2. A flat elevated area used for acts or presentations ; a particular point or step within a sequence of events ; the setting or environment where theatrical productions are created and rehearsed
3. An area raised above the surrounding floor for performances or speech ; a distinct period or level in progress or development ; the space and context involved in mounting and performing plays or shows

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "stage" is that its earliest sense had nothing to do with theatre. In Old French, "estage" meant a dwelling or residence, and the word's sense of standing or position is still visible in its roots: it came from "ester", meaning to be standing or located. A "stage" was a place where one stood or lived, a floor or level of a building, and the idea of a level or step is what later grew into the sense of a platform raised above the ground. The English word arrived in Middle English from that Old French source, and it shares its ancestry with Old English words for place and standing, such as "stede", meaning station or site, which survives today in "instead" and "steadfast" through the related word "stead". The sense of a raised platform for performers came later, as the idea of a level or platform became the idea of a place where people are displayed or performed.

Synonyms: platform, phase, step, level, scene

Antonyms: chaos, disorder