stagnate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to stop flowing or circulating and become still or stale

   Water will stagnate in the ditch if the drain remains blocked.

2. 2
   verb

   to stop developing, growing, or making progress

   Without new investment, the regional economy may stagnate.

From Latin stagnatus, the past participle of stagnare 'to form a pool or become stagnant', from stagnum 'standing water, pool'. The figurative sense of failing to develop grows from the image of water that no longer flows.

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