means To remain in a place, condition, or relationship rather than leaving or changing, or to pause and hold steady.

from From Old English and Old French roots that flowed into Middle English: the sense of remaining and pausing traces through Old French 'estai-,' from Latin 'stare,' to stand — a deep family that also gives us 'stand,' 'stable,' and 'state.' A separate but tangled thread, 'stay' meaning a support or prop (as in the stays of a ship or a corset), comes from a Germanic word for something that holds firm. Both senses circle the same idea: to stand fast, to hold one's ground.