This is the 17193rd most frequent Russian word.
стоял
"Stood."
The word 'стоял' is used in its literal sense to indicate the act of standing in a location.
Человек стоял на остановке, ожидая автобус.
The man was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus.
Here, 'стоял' is used figuratively to describe the state or presence of the time or conditions.
Стоял холодный зимний вечер, когда они встретились.
It was a cold winter evening when they met.
In this use, 'стоял' describes the static position of an object, in this case, a book on a shelf.