Etymology: Middle English stak, from Old Norse stakkr; akin to Russian stog stack and probably to Old English staca stake
Date: 14th century
1: a large usually conical pile (as of hay, straw, or grain in the sheaf) left standing in the field for storage 2 a: an orderly pile or heap b: a large quantity or number 3: an English unit of measure especially for firewood that is equal to 108 cubic feet 4 a: a number of flues embodied in one structure rising above a roof b: a vertical pipe (as to carry off smoke) c: the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine 5 a: a structure of bookshelves for compact storage of books —usually used in plural bplural: a section of a building housing such structures 6: a pile of poker chips 7 a: a memory or a section of memory in a computer for temporary storage in which the last item stored is the first retrieved; also: a data structure that simulates a stack <a push-down stack>b: a computer memory consisting of arrays of memory elements stacked one on top of another