Outstanding in meaning

English is a hard language to master not because of its grammar, however complex that may seem to some, but due to its free, even chaotic, process of vocabulary development.  In simple terms, the original meaning of a word is so turned and twisted by popular use that it becomes impossible for a foreigner to guess.  In verbs, many of these changes are made by adding prepositions or nouns, creating a rich but confusing word family.

The verb word stand is from an old English word standan, meaning standing in one place, with the additional meaning of tolerate added in the 1600’s. So, it is clear that people should take their place in a queue if they are to stand in line or do not like a certain spice if they cannot stand cilantro.

Life, especially for second-language speakers of English, then gets complicated.  English abounds with phrasal verbs, verbs with prepositions added to them, with specific and seemingly unrelated meanings. To stand up is to rise from the sitting position while to stand up for is to insist on something, such as rights. By contrast, to stand down is end a state of high alertness as in the army. Actors that stand in for stars are temporarily replacing them but if they stand out enough and show how good they are, they may replace them one day.  If you stand on ceremony, you are a stickler for social rules. Yet, if you are in a standoff, you are in a deadlock. For that matter, someone who is standoffish is rather aloof.  By contrast, if someone stands by you, they support you. If parents do not stand for sassiness, children watch their words.  Curiously, to stand around does not necessarily mean being on one’s feet but merely hanging around with no purpose. What a difference a preposition makes.

Adding a noun expands the whole range of meanings. To stand on your two feet is not what very small children do but instead what adults in their 20’s strive for, economic independence. Likewise, a standing army does sometimes sit but is always ready and in uniform. You can say that you stand corrected, i.e., understand your mistake, even when you are sitting. A standing argument or standing rule do not actually have legs but merely are unresolved or permanent. To stand pat means not make changes and is derived from Poker and should not be confused with to stand Pat Boone, which means tolerate listening to his songs. Standing your ground involves establishing your position, not repositioning the earth. If something stands to reason, it does not involve rising to attention due to logic, but merely being logical, which is more than I say about most of these phrases.

In terms of noun use, there are taco stands, small booths to stop by for a quick lunch, and last stands, a place of no retreat. There are league standings, the relative records of teams, and legal standings, one’s status in court. In sports arena, you can sit in the stands, generally benches. You can put newspapers or umbrella in a stand in the entranceway when you get home. For fish, a stand or group of pelicans is bad news. Two cricket players are together for a stand and score a certain number of runs. To take a stand means to express an opinion while to take the stand means to testify in court. A stand or bunch of trees creates a nice patch of shade. Nothing is obvious here.

For a simple five letter word with a clear meaning, stand has come a long way and created many linguistic channels. You could that it is an outstanding example of the challenge and richness of English vocabulary.