01 n. A settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale t…
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1.
A settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale traffic.“The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.” — Arbuthnot.“For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.” — Sir W. Scott.
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2.
Hence: Place of supply; source; fountain head.“Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumor that any thing important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.” — Macaulay.
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3.
The principal commodity of traffic in a market; a principal commodity or production of a country or district; as, wheat, maize, and cotton are great staples of the United States.“We should now say, Cotton is the great staple, that is, the established merchandise, of Manchester.” — Trench.
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4.
The principal constituent in anything; chief item.
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5.
Unmanufactured material; raw material.
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6.
The fiber of wool, cotton, flax, or the like; as, a coarse staple; a fine staple; a long or short staple.
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7.
A loop of metal such as iron, or a bar or wire, bent and formed with two points to be driven into wood, to hold a hook, pin, or the like.
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8.
A small loop of metal such as steel, bent into a U-shape with the points sharpened, used to fasten sheets of paper together by driving the staple{8} through the stacked sheets and into a formed receptacle which curls the ends in and backward, thus holding the papers firmly together; also, a similar, slightly larger such fastener which may be driven into wood to fasten objects to a wooden backing.
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9.
A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.(Mining)
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10.
A district granted to an abbey.[Obs.]