a settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale traffic.-hence: place of supply; source; fountain head.-the principal commodity of traffic in a market; a principal commodity or production of a country or district; as, wheat, maize, and cotton are great staples of the united states.-the principal constituent in anything; chief item.-unmanufactured material; raw material.-the fiber of wool, cotton, flax, or the like; as, a coarse staple; a fine staple; a long or short staple.-a loop of iron, or a bar or wire, bent and formed with two points to be driven into wood, to hold a hook, pin, or the like.-a shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.-a small pit.-a district granted to an abbey.-pertaining to, or being market of staple for, commodities; as, a staple town.-established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled; as, a staple trade.-fit to be sold; marketable.-regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.-to sort according to its staple; as, to staple cotton.