staple
noun
[ ˈsteɪp(ə)l ]
• a piece of thin wire with two short right-angled end pieces which are driven by a stapler through sheets of paper to fasten them together.
staple
verb
• attach or secure with a staple or staples.
• "Merrill stapled a batch of papers together"
Origin:
Old English stapol, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stapel ‘pillar’ (a sense reflected in English in early use).
staple
noun
• a main or important element of something.
• "bread, milk, and other staples"
• the fibre of cotton or wool considered with regard to its length and degree of fineness.
• "jackets made from long-staple Egyptian cotton"
• a centre of trade, especially in a specified commodity.
• "proposals were made for a wool staple at Pisa"
staple
adjective
• main or important, especially in terms of consumption.
• "the staple foods of the poor"
Similar:
main,
principal,
chief,
major,
primary,
leading,
foremost,
first,
most important,
predominant,
dominant,
(most) prominent,
key,
crucial,
vital,
indispensable,
essential,
basic,
fundamental,
standard,
critical,
pivotal,
prime,
central,
premier,
number-one,
Origin:
Middle English (in staple2 (sense 3 of the noun)): from Old French estaple ‘market’, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stapel ‘pillar, emporium’; related to staple1.
