[steɪdʒ], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a point, period, or step in a process or development
(e.g: there is no need at this stage to give explicit details)

- a raised floor or platform, typically in a theatre, on which actors, entertainers, or speakers perform
(e.g: there are only two characters on stage)

- a floor or level of a building or structure
(e.g: the upper stage was added in the 17th century)

- (in chronostratigraphy) a range of strata corresponding to an age in time, forming a subdivision of a series
(e.g: the Oxfordian stage)

- a stagecoach

- a place designated for a bus, taxi, or other public vehicle to stop and let passengers on and off; a bus stop or taxi rank
(e.g: he was waiting at the taxi stage)


Phrases:
- hold the stage
- set the stage for
- stage left
- stage right

Origin:
Middle English (denoting a floor of a building, platform, or stopping place): shortening of Old French estage ‘dwelling’, based on Latin stare ‘to stand’. Current senses of the verb date from the early 17th century

[steɪdʒ], (Verb)

Definitions:
- present a performance of (a play or other show)
(e.g: the show is being staged at the Grand Opera House in Belfast)

- style or furnish (a property for sale) in such a way as to enhance its attractiveness to potential buyers
(e.g: once we've staged the house, we bring in our photographer)

- diagnose or classify (a disease or patient) as having reached a particular stage in the expected progression of the disease
(e.g: cancer of the prostate is staged by the way it feels on rectal exam)


Phrases:
- hold the stage
- set the stage for
- stage left
- stage right

Origin:
Middle English (denoting a floor of a building, platform, or stopping place): shortening of Old French estage ‘dwelling’, based on Latin stare ‘to stand’. Current senses of the verb date from the early 17th century