Adjacent Words

Stem definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STEM, n. [G., stock, stem, race. The primary sense is to set, to fix.]
1. The principal body of a tree, shrub or plant of any kind; the main stock; the firm part which supports the branches.
After thy are shot up thirty feet in length, they spread a very large top, having no bough or twig on the stem.
The lowring spring with lavish rain, beats down the slender stem and bearded grain.
2. The peduncle of the fructification, or the pedicle of a flower; that which supports the flower or the fruit of a planet.
3. The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors; as a noble stem.
Learn well their lineage and their ancient stem.
4. Progeny; branch of a family.
Of that victorious stock.
5. In a ship, a circular 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. From stem to stern, is from one end of the ship to the other, or through the whole length.
STEM, v.t.
1. To oppose or resist, as a current; or to make progress against a current. We say, the ship was not able with all her sails to stem the tide.
They stem the flood with their erected breasts.
2. To stop; to check; as a stream or moving force.
At length Erasmus, that great injurd name, stemmd the wild torrent of a barbrous age, and drove those holy Vandals off the stage.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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, stem, theme, radical]
2: a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ [syn: stalk, stem]
3: cylinder forming a long narrow part of something [syn: shank, stem]
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, stem]
6: a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it [syn: stem turn, stem] v
1: grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in the national debt stems from the last war"
2: cause to point inward; "stem your skis"
3: stop the flow of a liquid; "staunch the blood flow"; "stem the tide" [syn: stem, stanch, staunch, halt]
4: remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English stefn, stemn stem of a plant or ship; akin to Old High German stam plant stem and probably to Greek stamnos wine jar, histanai to set — more at stand Date: before 12th century 1. a. the main trunk of a plant; specifically a primary plant axis that develops buds and shoots instead of roots b. a plant part (as a branch, petiole, or stipe) that supports another (as a leaf or fruit) c. the complete fruiting stalk of a banana plant with its bananas 2. a. the main upright member at the bow of a ship b. the bow or prow of a ship — compare stern 3. a line of ancestry ; stock; especially a fundamental line from which others have arisen 4. the part of an inflected word that remains after the inflected part is removed <strength is the stem of strengths>; also root 6 5. something held to resemble a plant stem: as a. a main or heavy stroke of a letter b. the short perpendicular line extending from the head of a musical note c. the part of a tobacco pipe from the bowl outward d. the cylindrical support of a piece of stemware (as a goblet) e. a shaft of a watch used for winding II. transitive verb (stemmed; stemming) Etymology: Middle English (Scots) stemmen to keep a course, from ¹stem (of a ship) Date: 1593 1. to make headway against (as an adverse tide, current, or wind) 2. to check or go counter to (something adverse) • stemmer noun III. verb (stemmed; stemming) Etymology: ¹stem (of a plant) Date: 1724 transitive verb 1. to remove the stem from 2. to make stems for (as artificial flowers) intransitive verb to occur or develop as a consequence ; have or trace an origin <her success stems from hard work> Synonyms: see spring • stemmer noun IV. verb (stemmed; stemming) Etymology: Middle English stemmen to dam up, from Old Norse stemma; akin to Middle High German stemmen to dam up and probably to Lithuanian stumti to shove Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to stop or dam up (as a river) b. to stop or check by or as if by damming; especially stanch <stem a flow of blood> 2. to turn (a ski) in stemming intransitive verb 1. to restrain or check oneself; also to become checked or stanched 2. to slide the heel of one ski or of both skis outward usually in making or preparing to make a turn V. noun Date: 1700 1. check, dam 2. an act or instance of stemming on skis

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 the main body or stalk of a plant or shrub, usu. rising into light, but occasionally subterranean. 2 the stalk supporting a fruit, flower, or leaf, and attaching it to a larger branch, twig, or stalk. 3 a stem-shaped part of an object: a the slender part of a wineglass between the body and the foot. b the tube of a tobacco-pipe. c a vertical stroke in a letter or musical note. d the winding-shaft of a watch. 4 Gram. the root or main part of a noun, verb, etc., to which inflections are added; the part that appears unchanged throughout the cases and derivatives of a noun, persons of a tense, etc. 5 Naut. the main upright timber or metal piece at the bow of a ship to which the ship's sides are joined at the fore end (from stem to stern). 6 a line of ancestry, branch of a family, etc. (descended from an ancient stem). 7 (in full drill stem) a rotating rod, cylinder, etc., used in drilling. --v. (stemmed, stemming) 1 intr. (foll. by from) spring or originate from (stems from a desire to win). 2 tr. remove the stem or stems from (fruit, tobacco, etc.). 3 tr. (of a vessel etc.) hold its own or make headway against (the tide etc.). Phrases and idioms: stem cell Biol. an undifferentiated cell from which specialized cells develop. stem stitch an embroidery stitch used for narrow stems etc. stem-winder US a watch wound by turning a head on the end of a stem rather than by a key. Derivatives: stemless adj. stemlet n. stemlike adj. stemmed adj. (also in comb.). Etymology: OE stemn, stefn f. Gmc, rel. to STAND 2. v. & n. --v. (stemmed, stemming) 1 tr. check or stop. 2 tr. dam up (a stream etc.). 3 intr. slide the tail of one ski or both skis outwards usu. in order to turn or slow down. --n. an act of stemming on skis. Phrases and idioms: stem-turn a turn on skis made by stemming with one ski. Etymology: ON stemma f. Gmc: cf. STAMMER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stem Stem, v. i. To move forward against an obstacle, as a vessel against a current. Stemming nightly toward the pole. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stem Stem, Steem Steem, n. A gleam of light; flame. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(stems, stemming, stemmed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If a condition or problem stems from something, it was caused originally by that thing. Much of the instability stems from the economic effects of the war. VERB: V from n 2. If you stem something, you stop it spreading, increasing, or continuing. (FORMAL) Austria has sent three army battalions to its border with Hungary to stem the flow of illegal immigrants... VERB: V n 3. The stem of a plant is the thin, upright part on which the flowers and leaves grow. He stooped down, cut the stem for her with his knife and handed her the flower. = stalk N-COUNT 4. The stem of a wine glass is the long thin part which connects the bowl to the base. N-COUNT 5. The stem of a pipe is the long thin part through which smoke is sucked. N-COUNT 6. In grammar, the stem of a word is the main part of it, which does not change when the ending changes. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Trunk (of a tree), main stock, stipe. 2. Peduncle, pedicel, petiole, stalk. 3. Branch, shoot, scion, descendant, progeny, offspring. 4. Stock, race, pedigree, descent, family, generation, lineage, ancestry. 5. (Naut.) Forepart (of a ship), prow, beak, bow. 6. Lookout, leading position, helm. 7. (Mus.) Tail (of a note). 8. Root, origin, radical, radix, primitive word, etymon. II. v. a. 1. Oppose (as a current), resist, breast, withstand, bear up against, make head against. 2. Stop, check, oppose, stay.

Moby Thesaurus

IC analysis, Maypole, V, accidence, accrue from, adjutage, advance, affiliation, affix, affixation, affront, allomorph, animal kingdom, ankle, antagonize, anthrophore, apparentation, arise, arise from, arrest, ascender, axis, back, baluster, balustrade, banister, bar, base, bastard type, battle, bayonet legs, be contingent on, be due to, beak, beard, beat against, beat up against, beginning, belly, bevel, bifurcate, birth, black letter, block, blood, bloodline, body, bole, bound morpheme, bow, bowlegs, bows, bowsprit, brake, branch, branch out, brave, breast, breast the wave, breed, bring before, bring forward, bring to, bring up, bring up short, brood, buck, bud from, buffet, buffet the waves, calf, cane, cap, capital, carpophore, caryatid, case, catheter, caudex, caulicle, caulis, challenge, check, checkmate, clan, class, close with, cnemis, colonnade, column, combat, come, come along, come from, come on, come out of, commencement, common ancestry, compete with, conception, confront, confront with, conjugation, consanguinity, contend against, contest, control, counter, cover ground, crotch, crutch, culm, curb, cut short, cutting, dado, dam, dare, deadlock, declension, defy, delta, deme, depend on, derivation, derive, derive from, descend, descend from, descender, descent, develop, die, difference of form, diminish, direct line, distaff side, divaricate, drainpipe, draw rein, drumstick, efflux tube, em, emanate, emanate from, emerge from, en, enclitic, encounter, ensue from, envisage, extraction, face, face with, family, fan, fat-faced type, feet, female line, fight, fight against, figurehead, filiation, fire hose, flagstaff, flow, flow from, flue pipe, folk, follow from, font, footstalk, forecastle, foredeck, foreleg, forepeak, fork, formative, free form, freeze, front, funicule, funiculus, funnel, furcate, furcula, furculum, gain ground, gamb, gambrel, garden hose, gas pipe, gather head, gather way, generate, genesis, gens, germinate from, get ahead, get along, gigot, go, go ahead, go along, go fast, go forward, go on, grapple with, grass roots, groin, groove, grow, grow from, grow out of, halt, ham, hang on, haulm, head, hind leg, hinge on, hock, hose, hosepipe, house, immediate constituent analysis, inception, infix, infixation, inflection, inguen, issue, issue from, italic, jack, jamb, jib boom, join battle with, kind, knee, labor against, lay before, leafstalk, leg, lessen, letter, ligature, limb, line, line of descent, lineage, logotype, lower case, majuscule, make good time, make head against, make progress, make progress against, make strides, make up leeway, male line, matriclan, meet, meet squarely, militate against, minuscule, morph, morpheme, morphemic analysis, morphemics, morphology, morphophonemics, move, move forward, nation, newel-post, nick, nipple, nose, offer resistance, offshoot, order, organ pipe, origin, original, originate, originate in, origination, paradigm, pass along, pass on, patriclan, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, people, petiole, petiolule, petiolus, phratry, phyle, phylum, pi, pica, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, pipe, pipeline, pipette, piping, place before, plant kingdom, plinth, podite, point, pole, popliteal space, post, prefix, prefixation, present to, prevail over, print, proceed, proceed from, proclitic, progress, prong, prore, provenience, prow, pull up, put it to, put paid to, queen-post, quell, race, radical, radix, ramification, ramify, reduce, reed, reed pipe, reluct, reluctate, resist, result, retard, rise, rival, rod, roll, roman, root, rostrum, sans serif, scape, scissor-legs, script, seed, seedstalk, sept, set before, shaft, shank, shin, shoot, shoulder, siamese, siamese connection, side, siphon, slow, small cap, small capital, snorkel, socle, soil pipe, source, spear, spear side, species, spindle side, spire, spring, spring from, sprout, sprout from, staff, stalemate, stalk, stall, stamp, stanch, stanchion, stand, standard, standpipe, staunch, stay, steam pipe, stem from, stem the tide, stems, step forward, stick, stipe, stirps, stock, stop, stop cold, stop dead, stop short, strain, straw, strive against, struggle against, stumps, subbase, succession, suffix, suffixation, suppress, surbase, sword side, take on, tap, taproot, tarsus, theme, tigella, tongue, totem, totem pole, travel, tribe, trident, trifurcate, trotters, trunk, tube, tubing, tubulation, tubule, tubulet, tubulure, turn on, type, type body, type class, type lice, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, upper case, upright, vie with, waste pipe, water pipe, wishbone, withstand, word-formation