steady: [16] Steady was derived from stead ‘place’, probably on the model of Middle Low German stēdig ‘stable’. This in turn went back to a prehistoric Germanic *stadigaz, a product of the same base as produced English stead. Its etymological meaning is ‘fixed in one place’. => stead
1520s, "firmly fixed in place or station" (replacing earlier steadfast), from stead + adjectival suffix -y (2), perhaps on model of Middle Dutch, Middle Low German stadig. Old English had stæððig "grave, serious," and stedig "barren," but neither seems to be the direct source of the modern word. Old Norse cognate stoðugr "steady, stable" was closer in sense. As an adverb from c. 1600.
Originally of things; of persons or minds from c. 1600. Meaning "working at an even rate" is first recorded in 1540s. Steady progress is etymologically a contradiction in terms. Steady state first attested 1885; as a cosmological theory (propounded by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle), it is attested from 1948. Related: Steadily.
1792, "a steady thing or place," from steady (adj.). From 1885 as "something that holds another object steady." Meaning "one's boyfriend or girlfriend" is from 1897; to go steady is 1905 in teenager slang.
双语例句
1. Gail was silent for a moment, regarding Harry with his steady gaze.
盖尔镇定地注视着哈里，沉默了片刻。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She felt increasingly uncomfortable under the woman's steady gaze.
那个女人一直盯着她看，让她觉得愈发不自在了。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He was firm and steady unlike other men she knew.
他坚定可靠，和她认识的其他男人不一样。
来自柯林斯例句
4. It's been hard to get a steady fix on what's going on.
要对正在发生的事情保持持续的关注和了解并不容易。
来自柯林斯例句
5. He reached for a cigarette and lit it, fingers rock steady.
