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stock, in botany

stock, in botany, common name for any species of the genus Matthiola, for Malcomia maritima (Virginia stock), and for the wallflower, all belonging to the family Cruciferae (mustard family), and for a carnation of the family Caryophyllaceae (pink family). Most are herbs indigenous to the Mediterranean region and to S Africa. A few are widely cultivated, both in greenhouses and in gardens, for the fragrant blossoms—usually purplish in the wild but of various colors in horticultural types. The evening stock, or perfume plant (Matthiola bicornis), is night-blooming; the Brampton stock, or gillyflower (M. incana), has an early blooming variety (annua), known as ten-weeks-stock or cut-and-come-again, which is sometimes grown as a house plant. The name gillyflower is also used for the Virginia stock, the wallflower, and for the carnation of the pink family. Stock is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Capparales, family Cruciferae; and order Caryophyllales, family Caryophyllaceae.

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stock, in finance

stock, in finance, instrument certifying to shares in the ownership of a corporation. Bonds are similar evidences of shares in a loan to a corporation. Stock yields no dividends until claims of bondholders have been met. Preferred stock is entitled to dividends of a specified percentage per annum before common stock is entitled to any dividends; the common stock is then usually entitled to the rest of the profits. In case of liquidation of the company, holders of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over holders of common stock in the division of assets. Holders of common stock usually have voting rights in the management of the corporation; bondholders and, usually, holders of preferred stock have no voting rights. Since the value of common stock depends largely on its earnings, it is often issued with no par value. Public demand for securities and the need of corporations for ready capital have led to the development of stock exchanges in most of the major cities of the world (see stock exchange).

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stock, in horticulture

stock, in horticulture: see grafting.

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stock

In finance, the subscribed capital of a corporation or limited-liability company, usually divided into shares and represented by transferable certificates. Many companies have only one class of stock, called common stock. Common stock, as a share of ownership in the company, entitles the holder to an interest in the company's earnings and assets. It carries voting rights that enable the holder to participate in the running of the company (unless such rights are specifically withheld, as in special classes of nonvoting shares). Dividends paid on common stock are often unstable because they vary with earnings; they are also usually less than earnings, the difference being used by the management to expand the firm. To appeal to investors who want to be sure of receiving dividends regularly, some companies issue preferred stock, which has a prior claim to dividends paid by the company and, in most cases, to the company's assets in case of its dissolution. Preferred-stock dividends are usually set at a fixed annual rate that must be paid before dividends are distributed to common stockholders. See also security, stock exchange.

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stock

1. 

a. the total goods or raw material kept on the premises of a shop or business

b. (as modifier): a stock clerk

2. the trunk or main stem of a tree or other plant

3. Horticulture

a. a rooted plant into which a scion is inserted during grafting

b. a plant or stem from which cuttings are taken

4. the original type from which a particular race, family, group, etc., is derived

5. a race, breed, or variety of animals or plants

6. any of the major subdivisions of the human species; race or ethnic group

7. the main body of a tool, such as the block of a plane

8. short for diestock gunstock, rolling stock

9. film material before exposure and processing

10. Metallurgy

a. a portion of metal cut from a bar upon which a specific process, such as forging, is to be carried out

b. the material that is smelted in a blast furnace

11. any of several plants of the genus Matthiola, such as M. incana and M. bicornis (evening or night-scented stock), of the Mediterranean region, cultivated for their brightly coloured flowers: Brassicaceae (crucifers)

12. Virginian stock a similar and related North American plant, Malcolmia maritima

13. Cards a pile of cards left after the deal in certain games, from which players draw

14. 

a. the repertoire of plays available to a repertory company

b. (as modifier): a stock play

15. (on some types of anchors) a crosspiece at the top of the shank under the ring

16. the centre of a wheel

17. an exposed igneous intrusion that is smaller in area than a batholith

18. a log or block of wood

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stock

symbolizes enduring loveliness. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 177]

See : Beauty, Lasting