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standish

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stand⋅ish

[stan-dish]
–noun Archaic.
a stand for ink, pens, and other writing materials.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME; orig. uncert.; perh. stand + dish

Stan⋅dish

[stan-dish]
–noun
1. Burt L., pseudonym of Gilbert Patten.
2. Myles or Miles [mahylz] , c1584–1656, American settler, born in England: military leader in Plymouth Colony.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Stan·dish   (stān'dĭsh')   
English colonist in America. Hired by the English Pilgrims to accompany them on their voyage to the New World (1620), he emerged as a military and political leader in the difficult early years of the colony.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

standish

receptacle for a pen, ink, and other writing accessories. In England such a utensil was called a standish from the 15th to the 18th century. Inkstands were made of silver, pewter, lead, earthenware, or porcelain. Silver was the most fashionable material used throughout the 18th century. Later inkstands contain a wide variety of accessories, such as a taper stick (a candlestick to hold small tapers), pounce box (for sprinkling pounce, a powdered gum that fixed ink to paper), wafer-box (to hold wafers used to seal letters), a penknife, and quills. The use of inkstands gradually disappeared after fountain pens were perfected early in the 20th century.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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