browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
stem |
8 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, Steem \Steem\, v. i. To gleam. [Obs.] His head bald, that shone as any glass, . . . [And] stemed as a furnace of a leed [caldron]. --Chaucer. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, v. i. To move forward against an obstacle, as a vessel against a current. Stemming nightly toward the pole. --Milton. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, Steem \Steem\, n. A gleam of light; flame. [Obs.] From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, n. [AS. stemn, stefn, st[ae]fn; akin to OS stamn the stem of a ship, D. stam stem, steven stem of a ship, G. stamm stem, steven stem of a ship, Icel. stafn, stamn, stem of a ship, stofn stomn, stem, Sw stam a tree trunk, Dan. stamme. Cf {Staff}, {Stand}.] 1. The principal body of a tree, shrub, or plant, of any kind the main stock; the part which supports the branches or the head or top After they are shot up thirty feet in length, they spread a very large top having no bough nor twig in the trunk or the stem. --Sir W. Raleigh. The lowering spring, with lavish rain, Beats down the slender stem and breaded grain. --Dryden. 2. A little branch which connects a fruit, flower, or leaf with a main branch; a peduncle, pedicel, or petiole; as the stem of an apple or a cherry. 3. The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors. ``All that are of noble stem.'' --Milton. While I do pray, learn here thy stem And true descent. --Herbert. 4. A branch of a family. This is a stem Of that victorious stock. --Shak. 5. (Naut.) A curved piece of timber to which the two sides of a ship are united at the fore end The lower end of it is scarfed to the keel, and the bowsprit rests upon its upper end Hence the forward part of a vessel; the bow. 6. Fig.: An advanced or leading position; the lookout. Wolsey sat at the stem more than twenty years. --Fuller. 7. Anything resembling a stem or stalk; as the stem of a tobacco pipe; the stem of a watch case, or that part to which the ring, by which it is suspended, is attached. 8. (Bot.) That part of a plant which bears leaves, or rudiments of leaves, whether rising above ground or wholly subterranean. 9. (Zo["o]l.) a The entire central axis of a feather. b The basal portion of the body of one of the Pennatulacea, or of a gorgonian. 10. (Mus.) The short perpendicular line added to the body of a note; the tail of a crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, etc 11. (Gram.) The part of an inflected word which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) throughout a given inflection; theme; base. {From stem to stern} (Naut.), from one end of the ship to the other or through the whole length. {Stem leaf} (Bot.), a leaf growing from the stem of a plant, as contrasted with a basal or radical leaf. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, v. t. 1. To remove the stem or stems from as to stem cherries; to remove the stem and its appendages (ribs and veins) from as to stem tobacco leaves. 2. To ram, as clay, into a blasting hole. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Stem \Stem\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stemmed}; p. pr & vb n. {Stemming}.] [Either from stem, n., or akin to stammer; cf G. stemmen to press against.] To oppose or cut with or as with the stem of a vessel; to resist, or make progress against; to stop or check the flow of as a current. ``An argosy to stem the waves.'' --Shak. [They] stem the flood with their erected breasts. --Denham. Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age. --Pope. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: stem n 1: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: {root}, {root word}, {base}, {theme}, {radical}] 2: a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ [syn: {stalk}] 3: the long narrow part of something [syn: {shank}] 4: the tube of a tobacco pipe 5: front part of a vessel or aircraft; "he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line" [syn: {bow}, {fore}, {prow}] v 1: grow out of have roots in originate in "The increase in the national debt stems from the last war" 2: as of the flow of a liquid flowing, such as blood from a wound [syn: {stanch}, {staunch}, {halt}] From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]: Stem, NC (town, FIPS 64940) Location: 36.19981 N, 78.72323 W Population (1990): 249 (111 housing units) Area: 2.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 27581
more about stem