Stochastic
(Sto*chas"tic) a. [Gr. stochastiko`s, from stocha`zesqai to aim, to guess, fr. sto`chos mark
or aim.]
1. Conjectural; able to conjecture. [Obs.] Whitefoot.
Stock
(Stock) n. [AS. stocc a stock, trunk, stick; akin to D. stok, G. stock, OHG. stoc, Icel. stokkr,
Sw. stock, Dan. stok, and AS. stycce a piece; cf. Skr. tuj to urge, thrust. Cf. Stokker, Stucco, and
Tuck a rapier.]
1. The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed, strong, firm part; the trunk.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the
scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
Job xiv. 8,9. 2. The stem or branch in which a graft is inserted.
The scion overruleth the stock quite.
Bacon. 3. A block of wood; something fixed and solid; a pillar; a firm support; a post.
All our fathers worshiped stocks and stones.
Milton.
Item, for a stock of brass for the holy water, seven shillings; which, by the canon, must be of marble or
metal, and in no case of brick.
Fuller. 4. Hence, a person who is as dull and lifeless as a stock or post; one who has little sense.
Let's be no stoics, nor no stocks.
Shak. 5. The principal supporting part; the part in which others are inserted, or to which they are attached.
Specifically: —
(a) The wood to which the barrel, lock, etc., of a musket or like firearm are secured; also, a long, rectangular
piece of wood, which is an important part of several forms of gun carriage.
(b) The handle or contrivance by which bits are held in boring; a bitstock; a brace.
(c) (Joinery) The block of wood or metal frame which constitutes the body of a plane, and in which the
plane iron is fitted; a plane stock.
(d) (Naut.) The wooden or iron crosspiece to which the shank of an anchor is attached. See Illust. of
Anchor.
(e) The support of the block in which an anvil is fixed, or of the anvil itself.
(f) A handle or wrench forming a holder for the dies for cutting screws; a diestock.
(g) The part of a tally formerly struck in the exchequer, which was delivered to the person who had lent
the king money on account, as the evidence of indebtedness. See Counterfoil. [Eng.]
6. The original progenitor; also, the race or line of a family; the progenitor of a family and his direct descendants; lineage; family.
And stand betwixt them made, when, severally,
All told their stock.
Chapman.
Thy mother was no goddess, nor thy stock
From Dardanus.
Denham.
