station

English

Etymology

From Middle English stacioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman estation, from Latin statiōnem, accusative of statiō (“standing, post, job, position”), whence also Italian stazione. Doublet of stagione. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi), στάσις (stásis), Old English standan (whence English stand).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsteɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

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• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

station (plural stations)

1. A stopping place.
   1. A regular stopping place for ground transportation.

      The next station is Esperanza.

   2. A ground transportation depot.

      It's right across from the bus station.

   3. A place where one stands or stays or is assigned to stand or stay.

      From my station at the front door, I greeted every visitor.

      All ships are on station, Admiral.

      • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

        " […] Meanwhile, lest anything should really be amiss, or any malefactor seek to escape by the back, you and the boy must go round the corner with a pair of good sticks and take your post at the laboratory door. We give you ten minutes, to get to your stations."

      • 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

        He walked. To the corner of Hamilton Place and Picadilly, and there stayed for a while, for it is a romantic station by night. The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps.

   4. (US) A gas station, service station.
      • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[1]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):

        Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.

   • Gas Station definition

     filling station / petrol station; an establishment which sells gasoline (petrol) and diesel

   • Service Station definition

     a filling station, gas station or petrol station; a facility selling fuel for road motor vehicles (1 of 2 service station definitions)
2. A place where workers are stationed.
   1. An official building from which police or firefighters operate.

      The police station is opposite the fire station.

   2. A place where one performs a task or where one is on call to perform a task.

      The waitress was at her station preparing three checks.

      The station is part of a group of stations run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

   3. A military base.

      She had a boyfriend at the station.

   4. A place used for broadcasting radio or television.

      I used to work at a radio station.

   5. (Australia, New Zealand) A very large sheep or cattle farm.
      • 1890, A. B. Paterson, The Man From Snowy River,

        There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around, / that the colt from old Regret had got away,

      • 1993, Kay Walsh, Joy W. Hooton, Dowker, L. O., entry in Australian Autobiographical Narratives: 1850-1900, page 69,

        Tiring of sheep, he took work on cattle stations, mustering cattle on vast unfenced holdings, and looking for work ‘nigger-bossing’, or supervising Aboriginal station hands.

      • 2003, Margo Daly, Anne Dehne, Rough Guide to Australia, page 654,

        The romance of the gritty station owner in a crumpled Akubra, his kids educated from the remote homestead by the School of the Air, while triple-trailer road trains drag tornadoes of dust across the plains, creates a stirring idea of the modern-day pioneer battling against the elemental Outback.

   6. (historical) In British India, the place where the English officials of a district, or the officers of a garrison (not in a fortress) reside.
      • 1881, International Congress of Medicine, Transactions of the 1st, 2nd, 4th-17th Congress (page 541)

        It was my fate to commence my career in the medical service forty years ago in the presanitary days, long before the introduction of modern methods of diagnosis, at two of the most unhealthy stations in the whole of India — Bellary and Secunderabad.

   • Official definition

     Of or pertaining to an office or public trust. (1 of 10 official definitions)

   • Building definition

     The act or process by which something is built; construction. (1 of 2 building definitions)

   • Police definition

     A public agency charged with enforcing laws and maintaining public order, usually being granted special privileges to do so, particularly (1 of 10 police definitions)

   • Firefighter definition

     A person who has been trained to put out fires.

   • Broadcast definition

     (1 of 4 broadcast definitions)

   • Sheep definition

     A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis. (1 of 6 sheep definitions)

   • Cattle definition

     Domesticated bovine animals (cows, bulls, steers etc). (1 of 5 cattle definitions)

   • British India definition

     Synonym of British Raj (1 of 2 British India definitions)

   • Garrison definition

     A permanent military post. (1 of 4 garrison definitions)

   • Fortress definition

     A fortified place; a large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town; for example a fort, a castle; a stronghold; a place of defense or security. (1 of 2 fortress definitions)
3. (Christianity) Any of the Stations of the Cross.

   • Christianity definition

     An Abrahamic religion originating from the community of the followers of Jesus Christ.

   • Stations Of The Cross definition

     Collectively, the series of icons or statues, (normally 14) in a church which depict the last days of Jesus and his crucifixion. (1 of 2 Stations of the Cross definitions)
4. (Christianity) The Roman Catholic fast of the fourth and sixth days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, in memory of the council which condemned Christ, and of his passion.

   • Roman Catholic definition

     Of or pertaining to the (Roman) Catholic Church. (1 of 2 Roman Catholic definitions)

   • Fast definition

     Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. (1 of 15 fast definitions)
5. (Christianity) A church in which the procession of the clergy halts on stated days to say stated prayers.
   • 1513, Henry Bradshaw, The Life of Saint Werburge of Chester:

     So dyd Offa […] Deuoutly to vysyte all the hole stacyons of the cytee of Rome.

   • Church definition

     A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place. (1 of 8 church definitions)

   • Procession definition

     The act of progressing or proceeding. (1 of 5 procession definitions)

   • Clergy definition

     Body of persons, such as priests, who are trained and ordained for religious service.
6. Standing; rank; position.

   She had ambitions beyond her station.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     The greater part have kept, I see, / Their station.

   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:

     And they in France of the best rank and station

7. A broadcasting entity.

   I used to listen to that radio station.

8. (Newfoundland) A harbour or cove with a foreshore suitable for a facility to support nearby fishing.

   • Newfoundland English definition

     The form of English spoken in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

   • Harbour definition

     Commonwealth of Nations standard spelling of harbor.

   • Cove definition

     A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. (1 of 7 cove definitions)

   • Foreshore definition

     Synonym of intertidal zone.

   • Fishing definition

     The act of catching fish. (1 of 5 fishing definitions)
9. (surveying) Any of a sequence of equally spaced points along a path.

   • Surveying definition

     The science of accurately determining the position of points and the distances between them.

   • Sequence definition

     A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series (1 of 8 sequence definitions)

   • Equally definition

     In an equal manner; in equal shares or proportion; with equal and impartial justice; evenly (1 of 3 equally definitions)

   • Path definition

     A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians. (1 of 9 path definitions)
10. The particular place, or kind of situation, in which a species naturally occurs; a habitat.

    • Habitat definition

      Conditions suitable for an organism or population of organisms to live. (1 of 4 habitat definitions)
11. (mining) An enlargement in a shaft or galley, used as a landing, or passing place, or for the accommodation of a pump, tank, etc.

    • Mining definition

      (1 of 5 mining definitions)
12. Post assigned; office; the part or department of public duty which a person is appointed to perform; sphere of duty or occupation; employment.
    • 1704, Robert Nelson, A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England‎^[2], New, Revised and Corrected edition, published 1837, page 18:

      Moreover, by spending this day [Sunday] in religious exercises, we acquire new strength and resolution to perform God's will in our several stations the week following.

13. (medicine) The position of the foetal head in relation to the distance from the ischial spines, measured in centimetres.

    • Medicine definition

      (1 of 16 medicine definitions)

    • Position definition

      A place or location. (1 of 11 position definitions)

    • Foetal definition

      Alternative spelling of fetal

    • Head definition

      The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs. (1 of 63 head definitions)

    • Distance definition

      The amount of space between two points, usually geographical points, usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line. (1 of 10 distance definitions)

    • Measure definition

      A prescribed quantity or extent.

      1. Moderation, temperance.
      2. A limit that cannot be exceeded; a bound. (Now chiefly in set phrases.)
      3. An (unspecified) portion or quantity.

      (1 of 23 measure definitions)

    • Centimetre definition

      An SI unit of length equal to 10 metres. Symbol: cm
14. (obsolete) The fact of standing still; motionlessness, stasis.
    • 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.5:

      […] the cross legs [are] moving or resting together, so that two are always in motion and two in station at the same time […]

    • Motionlessness definition

      the property of being motionless

    • Stasis definition

      A slackening or arrest of the blood current, due not to a lessening of the heart’s beat, but to some abnormal resistance of the capillary walls. (1 of 4 stasis definitions)
15. (astronomy) The apparent standing still of a superior planet just before it begins or ends its retrograde motion.

    • Astronomy definition

      The study of the physical universe beyond the Earth's atmosphere, including the process of mapping locations and properties of the matter and radiation in the universe. (1 of 2 astronomy definitions)

    • Retrograde definition

      Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating. (1 of 15 retrograde definitions)

Synonyms

• (broadcasting entity): (that broadcasts television) channel
• (ground transport depot): sta (abbreviation), stn (abbreviation)
• (military base): base, military base
• (large sheep or cattle farm): farm, ranch

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Cebuano: estasyon
• → Hindi: स्टेशन (sṭeśan)
• → Irish: stáisiún
• → Malay: stesen
• → Punjabi: سٹیشن‎/ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ (saṭeśan)
• → Scottish Gaelic: stèisean
• → Swahili: stesheni
• → Urdu: سٹیشن‎ (sṭeśan)

Translations

References

• “station” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004. (Newfoundland station)

Verb

station (third-person singular simple present stations, present participle stationing, simple past and past participle stationed) (transitive)

1. (usually passive) To put in place to perform a task.

   The host stationed me at the front door to greet visitors.

   I was stationed on the pier.

   • 2012 November 10, Amy Lawrence, “Fulham's Mark Schwarzer saves late penalty in dramatic draw at Arsenal”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     The Costa Rican's lofted corner exposed Arsenal's own problems with marking, and Berbatov, stationed right in the middle of goal, only needed to take a gentle amble back to find the space to glance past Vito Mannone

2. To put in place to perform military duty.

   They stationed me overseas just as fighting broke out.

   I was stationed at Fort Richie.

Translations

Anagrams

• sat on it

Danish

Etymology

From Old French estation, estacion from Latin statiō (“position, station”), derived from the verb stare (“to stand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sd̥aˈɕoˀn]

Noun

station c (singular definite stationen, plural indefinite stationer)

1. station (major stopping place for busses or trains)

   • Station definition

     A stopping place.

     1. A regular stopping place for ground transportation. (1 of 25 station definitions)
2. station (a building which is the center for an institution, in particular a police station)
3. station (a company broadcasting radio or television)

Inflection

Derived terms

• brandstation
• endestation
• flyvestation
• mellemstation
• politistation
• pumpestation
• radiostation
• rutebilstation
• stationsby
• togstation

References

• “station” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French station.

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /staːˈʃɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sta‧ti‧on
• Rhymes: -ɔn

Noun

station n (plural stations, diminutive stationnetje n)

1. station (place for vehicles to stop)

   Synonym: statie

   • Statie definition

     A state trooper.
2. (computer hardware) disk drive

   • Computer definition

     A person employed to perform computations; one who computes. (1 of 3 computer definitions)

   • Hardware definition

     Fixtures, equipment, tools and devices used for general-purpose construction and repair of a structure or object. Also such equipment as sold as stock by a store of the same name, e.g. hardware store. (1 of 8 hardware definitions)

   • Disk Drive definition

     A computer drive that reads disks.
3. radio station or television station

   • Radio Station definition

     A broadcast station, usually housed in a small building, from which radio programs are transmitted.

   • Television Station definition

     A studio or building from where a television channel is broadcast. (1 of 3 television station definitions)

Derived terms

• benzinestation
• eindstation
• metrostation
• NS-station
• onderzoeksstation
• pompstation
• ruimtestation
• stationsgebouw
• stationschef
• tramstation
• treinstation
• tussenstation
• wegwaaistation
• weerstation

Descendants

• → Caribbean Javanese: stasiyun, setasiyun
• → Indonesian: stasiun
• → Javanese: ꦱꦼꦠꦱꦶꦪꦸꦤ꧀ (setasiyun)
• → Sranan Tongo: stâsyon

See also

• depot

French

Etymology

From Old French estation, estacion, borrowed from Latin stātiō, stātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sta.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

station f (plural stations)

1. station

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Romanian: stație
• → Turkish: istasyon

Further reading

• “station”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• tâtions

Interlingua

Noun

station (plural stationes)

1. station (place where workers are stationed)

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English stācioun, from Anglo-Norman estation, from Latin statiōnem, accusative of statiō (“standing, post, job, position”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsteʃən]

Noun

station (plural stations)

1. station

References

• “station” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
• “station” in Eagle, Andy, editor, The Online Scots Dictionary^[4], 2016.
• “station” in John J Graham, The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick: Shetland Times Ltd, 1979, →ISBN.

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French estation, estacion from Latin statiōnem, accusative of statiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /staˈɧuːn/
• (Finland) IPA^(key): /staˈt͡ʃuːn/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

station c

1. station
   1. A facility used for broadcasting of transmissions.
   2. A facility (used by a state run department) or by scientists for collecting data.
   3. Place where one exits or enters a train, bus etc.

Declension

Related terms

• stationär

Derived terms

(facility used for broadcasting):

(facility used by a department or collecting of data):

(place where one exits or enters a train, bus etc.):