Adhering to a surface or staying in place, or the action of attaching something firmly to something else.
From Old English 'stician' meaning 'to prick or pierce,' which evolved to mean 'to adhere' because stabbing something makes it stay in place. The connection between piercing and sticking became the foundation for this word's modern meaning.
The word 'stick' kept its connection to both poking AND adhering for over a thousand years because when you stab something into wood, it literally stays there—so English speakers used the same word for both the action and the result.
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