stem

stem¹

noun

1》 the main body or stalk of a plant or shrub.

    ↘the stalk supporting a fruit, flower, or leaf, and attaching it to a larger branch, twig, or stalk.

2》 a long, thin supportive or main section of something, such as that of a wine glass or tobacco pipe.

3》 a rod or cylinder in a mechanism.

4》 a vertical stroke in a letter or musical note.

5》 Grammar the root or main part of a word, to which inflections or formative elements are added.

6》 the main upright timber or metal piece at the bow of a ship.

7》 archaic or literary the main line of descent of a family or nation.

verb (stems, stemming, stemmed)

1》 (stem from) originate in or be caused by.

2》 remove the stems from (fruit or tobacco leaves).

3》 (of a boat) make headway against (the tide or current).

Phrases

from stem to stern from one end to the other, especially of a ship.

Derivatives

stemmed adjective

stemless adjective

Origin

OE stemn, stefn, of Gmc origin.

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stem²

verb (stems, stemming, stemmed)

1》 stop or restrict (the flow of something).

2》 Skiing slide the tail of one ski or both skis outwards in order to turn or slow down.

Origin

ME: from ON stemma, of Gmc origin; the skiing term is from the Ger. verb stemmen.