Small shops or booths set up temporarily in a market; compartments where animals are kept; or when a vehicle's engine suddenly stops working.
From Old English 'steall' (standing place, position), related to German 'Stall' (stable). The word developed multiple meanings: a place where something stands, a place where animals stand, and later a place where a vendor stands to sell goods.
The word 'stall' perfectly captures how English reuses the same concept—a horse stalls in its stall, an airplane engine stalls (stops moving forward), and a market stall is a place where motion stops to conduct business—all connected by the idea of 'standing place.'
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