stem

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

stem, v. i. 

 To gleam.  [1913 Webster]
"His head bald, that shone as any glass, . . .
[And] stemed as a furnace of a leed [caldron]."  [1913 Webster]

stem, n. 

 A gleam of light; flame.  [1913 Webster]

stem, n. [AS. stemn, stefn, stæfn; 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.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "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."  [1913 Webster]

  "The lowering spring, with lavish rain,
  Beats down the slender stem and breaded grain."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

  "While I do pray, learn here thy stem
  And true descent."  [1913 Webster]
•  A branch of a family.  [1913 Webster]

  "This is a stem
  Of that victorious stock."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  Fig.: An advanced or leading position; the lookout.  [1913 Webster]

  "Wolsey sat at the stem more than twenty years."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  That part of a plant which bears leaves, or rudiments of leaves, whether rising above ground or wholly subterranean.  [1913 Webster]
•  The entire central axis of a feather.  [1913 Webster]
•  The short perpendicular line added to the body of a note; the tail of a crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, etc.  [1913 Webster]
•  The part of an inflected word which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) throughout a given inflection; theme; base.  [1913 Webster]

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.

stem, v. t. 

•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  To ram, as clay, into a blasting hole.  [1913 Webster]

stem, v. t. [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.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
"[They] stem the flood with their erected breasts."  [1913 Webster]
"Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age."  [1913 Webster]

stem, v. i. 

 To move forward against an obstacle, as a vessel against a current.  [1913 Webster]
"Stemming nightly toward the pole."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

stem, 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.).

Idiom

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.

Derivative

stemless adj. stemlet n. stemlike adj. stemmed adj. (also in comb.).

stem, 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.

Idiom

stem-turn a turn on skis made by stemming with one ski.

Etymology

ON stemma f. Gmc: cf. STAMMER

THESAURUS

stem

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

ROGET THESAURUS

stem

Opposition

VB oppose, counteract, run counter to, withstand, control, hinder, antagonize, oppugn, fly in the face of, go dead against, kick against, fall afoul of, run afoul of, set against, pit against, face, confront, cope with, make a stand, make a dead set against, set oneself against, set one's face against, protest against, vote against, raise one's voice against, disfavor, turn one's back upon, set at naught, slap in the face, slam the door in one's face, be at cross purposes, play at cross purposes, counterwork, countermine, thwart, overthwart, work against, undermine, stem, breast, encounter, stem the tide, breast the tide, stem the current, stem the flood, buffet the waves, beat up against, make head against, grapple with, kick against the pricks, contend, do battle with, do battle against, contradict, contravene, belie, go against, run against, beat against, militate against, come in conflict with, emulate, rival, spoil one's trade.

Cause

N cause, origin, source, principle, element, occasioner, prime mover, primum mobile, vera causa, author, mainspring, agent, leaven, groundwork, foundation, spring, fountain, well, font, fountainhead, spring head, wellhead, fons et origo, genesis, descent, remote cause, influence, pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum, key, proximate cause, causa causans, straw that breaks the camel's back, ground, reason, reason why, why and wherefore, rationale, occasion, derivation, final cause, les dessous des cartes, undercurrents, rudiment, egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule, radicle, semen, sperm, nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed, causality, causation, origination, production, caused, causal, original, primary, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, protogenal, radical, embryonic, embryotic, in embryo, in ovo, seminal, germinal, at the bottom of, connate, having a common origin, because, behind the scenes, causa latet vis est notissima, felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

Paternity

N paternity, parentage, consanguinity, parent, father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba, genitor, progenitor, procreator, ancestor, grandsire, grandfather, great- grandfather, fathership, fatherhood, mabap, house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan, genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry, forefathers, forbears, patriarchs, motherhood, maternity, mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias, grandmother, paternal, parental, maternal, family, ancestral, linear, patriarchal, avi numerantur avorum, happy he with such a mother, hombre bueno no le busquen abolengo, philosophia stemma non inspicit.

Front

N front, fore, forepart, foreground, face, disk, disc, frontage, facade, proscenium, facia, frontispiece, anteriority, obverse (of a medal or coin), fore rank, front rank, van, vanguard, advanced guard, outpost, first line, scout, brow, forehead, visage, physiognomy, phiz, countenance, mut, rostrum, beak, bow, stem, prow, prore, jib, pioneer, metoposcopy, fore, anterior, front, frontal, before, in front, in the van, in advance, ahead, right ahead, forehead, foremost, in the foreground, in the lee of, before one's face, before one's eyes, face to face, vis-a-vis, front a front, formosa muta commendatio est, frons est animi janua, Human face divine, imago animi vultus est indices oculi, sea of upturned faces.

Vegetable

N vegetable, vegetable kingdom, flora, verdure, plant, tree, shrub, bush, creeper, herb, herbage, grass, annual, perennial, biennial, triennial, exotic, timber, forest, wood, woodlands, timberland, hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney, underwood, brushwood, scrub, boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte, arboretum, bush, jungle, prairie, heath, heather, fern, bracken, furze, gorse, whin, grass, turf, pasture, pasturage, turbary, sedge, rush, weed, fungus, mushroom, toadstool, lichen, moss, conferva, mold, growth, alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan, blow, blowth, floret, petiole, pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia, foliage, branch, bough, ramage, stem, tigella, spray, leaf, flower, blossom, bine, flowering plant, timber tree, fruit tree, pulse, legume, vegetable, vegetal, vegetive, vegitous, herbaceous, herbal, botanic, sylvan, silvan, arborary, arboreous, arborescent, arborical, woody, grassy, verdant, verdurous, floral, mossy, lignous, ligneous, wooden, leguminous, vosky, cespitose, turf-like, turfy, endogenous, exogenous, green-robed senators of mighty woods, this is the forest primeval.