. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English stem , stemme , stempne , stevin , from Old English stemn , from Proto-Germanic *stamniz , ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ( “ to stand, stay ” ) .
Noun
stem (plural stems )
The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.
1634 , John Milton , “Arcades ”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, , London: Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely , , published 1646 , →OCLC , page 55 :Where ye may all that are of noble ſtemm / Approach, and kiſs her ſacred veſtures hemm.
1633 , George Herbert , Church Monuments :While I do pray, learn here thy stem / And true descent.
A branch of a family.
1599 , William Shakespeare , “The Life of Henry the Fift ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :This is a stem / Of that victorious stock.
( taxonomy ) A branch, or group of branches, located outside a family or other cladistic group, but which is more closely related to that group than to any other taxon of the same rank.
An advanced or leading position; the lookout.
1655 , Thomas Fuller , edited by James Nichols , The Church History of Britain, , new edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III) , London: for Thomas Tegg and Son , , published 1837 , →OCLC :Wolsey sat at the stem more than twenty years.
( botany ) The above-ground stalk (technically axis ) of a vascular plant , and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes , bulbs , tubers , and corms .
1736 , Sir Walter Raleigh , The History of the World in Five Books :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 .
A slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf; also, by analogy, the shaft of a feather.
the stem of an apple or a cherry
2013 May-June, William E. Conner , “An Acoustic Arms Race ”, in American Scientist , volume 101 , number 3, pages 206–7 :Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.
A narrow part on certain man-made objects, such as a wine glass , a tobacco pipe, a spoon.
( linguistics ) The main part of an uninflected word to which affixes may be added to form inflections of the word. A stem often has a more fundamental root . Systematic conjugations and declensions derive from their stems.
( slang ) A person's leg .
2008 , Lori Wilde, Rhonda Nelson, Cara Summers, August Harlequin Blaze :She was perfectly, fuckably proportioned everywhere else, both above and below her waist. A pocket-size Venus, with the longest stems he'd ever seen on someone so dang diminutive.
( slang ) The penis .
2005 , Eric Bogosian, Wasted Beauty , page 135 :Waves of ecstasy roll through him as the moustachioed Casanova slides his stem in and out of the spaced-out chick.
( typography ) A vertical stroke of a letter.
( music ) A vertical stroke marking the length of a note in written music.
Synonyms: tail , ( obsolete ) virgula
( music ) A premixed portion of a track for use in audio mastering and remixing.
2019 , Karl Pedersen, Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard, The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook , Oxford University Press, →ISBN , page 268 :Stem mastering processes a mix by breaking it down into several manageable pieces—that is, stereo stems . The stem approach allows the mastering engineer the opportunity to make larger or smaller changes to separate mix elements before the final compression and limiting are applied to the complete mix.
( nautical ) The vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel , to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached.
c. 1587–1588 , [Christopher Marlowe ], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592 , →OCLC ; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973 , →ISBN , Act I, scene ii :Both we will walke vpon the loftie cliffes, And Chriſtian Merchants that with Ruſſian ſtems Plow vp huge furrowes in the Caſpian ſea, Shall vaile to vs, as Lords of al the Lake.
( cycling ) A component on a bicycle that connects the handlebars to the bicycle fork.
( anatomy ) A part of an anatomic structure considered without its possible branches or ramifications.
( slang ) A crack pipe ; or the long, hollow portion of a similar pipe (i.e. meth pipe) resembling a crack pipe.
( chiefly British ) A winder on a clock, watch, or similar mechanism.
Derived terms
Translations
stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors
advanced or leading position
botany: above-ground stalk of a vascular plant
Arabic: سَاق نَبَات ( sāq nabāt )
Armenian: ցողուն (hy) ( cʿoġun )
Assamese: ঠাৰি ( thari )
Azerbaijani: gövdə (az)
Basque: zurtoin
Bats: ღერო̂ ( ɣerô )
Belarusian: ствол m ( stvol )
Bulgarian: стъбло́ (bg) m ( stǎbló ) , стрък (bg) m ( strǎk )
Catalan: tall (ca) m , tija (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 莖 / 茎 (zh) ( jīng ) , 樹幹 / 树干 (zh) ( shùgàn )
Classical Nahuatl: quiyōtl
Danish: stængel (da) c
Dutch: stam (nl) m , stengel (nl) m , steel (nl) m
Esperanto: spiktrunko
Finnish: varsi (fi) , runko (fi)
French: tige (fr) f
Georgian: ღერო ( ɣero )
German: Stamm (de) m , Sprossachse (de) f
Greek: μίσχος (el) m ( míschos )
Ancient: καυλός m ( kaulós )
Hebrew: גִּבְעוֹל (he) m ( giv'ol )
Higaonon: poon
Hungarian: szár (hu)
Interlingua: stirpe
Italian: ceppo (it) m , fusto (it) , tronco (it) , gambo (it) m
Japanese: ( flower, glass ) 茎 (ja) ( くき, kuki ) ; ( trunk ) 幹 (ja) ( みき, miki )
Khmer: ទង (km) ( tɔɔng ) , ធាង (km) ( thiəng )
Korean: 경 (ko) ( gyeong )
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: qed (ku) m
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latin: stirps , caulis (la) f
Latvian: stiebrs (lv) m , stiebrs (lv) , stumbrs (lv) m
Laz: ღერი ( ğeri )
Lithuanian: stiebas m
Low German: Stamm m , Stängel m , Steel m
Macedonian: страк m ( strak ) , стебло n ( steblo ) , дршка f ( drška )
Maori: tā , tātā , tōtō , kākaka , kakau
Minangkabau: batang (min)
Mingrelian: ღერი ( ɣeri )
Mongolian: сүрэл (mn) ( sürel )
Nepali: डाँठ ( ḍā̃ṭh )
Norman: tigue f
Norwegian:
Bokmål: stengel (no) m
Nynorsk: stengel m
Occitan: tija (oc) f
Persian: ساقه (fa) ( sâqe ) , ستاک (fa) ( setâk )
Plautdietsch: Staum m
Polish: badyl (pl) m ( dried )
Portuguese: caule (pt)
Romanian: tulpină (ro) f , trunchi (ro)
Russian: ствол (ru) m ( stvol ) ( of a tree ) , сте́бель (ru) m ( stébelʹ )
Saanich: SȾESTASEs
Slovak: steblo (sk) n
Spanish: tallo (es)
Svan: ღე̄რ ( ɣēr )
Swahili: shina (sw)
Swedish: stjälk (sv) c
Tagalog: punungtangkay
Thai: ก้าน (th) ( gâan )
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Tocharian B: pere
Turkish: gövde (tr)
Ukrainian: стебло́ n ( stebló )
Vietnamese: thân (vi)
White Hmong: kav
Yiddish: שטאַם m ( shtam )
Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
slender supporting member for an individual part of a plant
Bulgarian: дръ́жка (bg) f ( drǎ́žka )
Finnish: vana (fi) , kukkavana , kukkavarsi , lehtiruoti (fi) , ruoti (fi) ; ruoto (fi) ( in a feather )
French: tige (fr) f
German: Stängel (de) m , Stiel (de) m , Halm (de) m , Strunk (de) m
Greek: κοτσάνι (el) n ( kotsáni )
Hungarian: nyél (hu) , kocsány (hu) , szár (hu)
Italian: gambo (it) m , picciolo (it) m , peduncolo (it) m , stelo (it) m
Japanese: ( flower ) 茎 (ja) ( くき, kuki ) ; ( leaf, feather ) 軸 (ja) ( じく, jiku )
Macedonian: страк m ( strak ) , стебло n ( steblo ) , дршка f ( drška )
Maori: tā , tātā
Polish: ogonek (pl) m ( of a fruit )
Portuguese: haste (pt) f
Romanian: peduncul (ro) , picior (ro) , coadă (ro)
Russian: черено́к (ru) m ( čerenók ) ( of a leaf or fruit ) , цветоно́жка (ru) f ( cvetonóžka ) ( of a flower ) , плодоно́жка (ru) f ( plodonóžka ) ( of a fruit )
Slovak: stonka f
Swedish: stjälk (sv) c
Thai: ก้าน (th) ( gâan )
narrow supporting structure on certain man-made objects
linguistics: main part of a word
Arabic: أَصْل m ( ʔaṣl )
Armenian: հիմք (hy) ( himkʿ )
Assamese: ঠাৰি ( thari )
Azerbaijani: kök (az)
Belarusian: асно́ва f ( asnóva ) , ко́рань (be) m ( kóranʹ )
Breton: pennrann (br) f
Bulgarian: ко́рен (bg) m ( kóren )
Catalan: arrel (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 詞幹 / 词干 (zh) ( cígàn )
Czech: kmen (cs) m
Danish: stamme (da) c
Dutch: stam (nl) m , grondwoord n
Estonian: tüvi (et)
Finnish: vartalo (fi)
French: racine (fr) f , radical (fr) m
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Wortstamm (de) m , Stamm (de) m
Greek: θέμα (el) n ( théma )
Hungarian: tő (hu) , szótő (hu) , igető (hu)
Indonesian: kata dasar (id)
Ingrian: sananpohja
Italian: tema (it) m , radice (it) f
Japanese: 語幹 (ja) ( ごかん, gokan )
Khmer: មូលសព្ទ ( muullaʼsap )
Korean: 어간(語幹) (ko) ( eogan )
Latvian: celms (lv) m
Lithuanian: kamienas m
Macedonian: основа f ( osnova )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: stamme (no) m
Occitan: raiç (oc) , radical (oc)
Persian: ستاک (fa) ( setâk )
Polish: rdzeń (pl) m inan , temat (pl) m inan
Portuguese: raiz (pt) f
Romanian: temă (ro) f
Russian: осно́ва (ru) f ( osnóva ) , ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: о̏снова f
Roman: ȍsnova (sh) f
Slovak: koreň m
Slovene: osnova (sl) f
Spanish: raíz (es) f
Swedish: ordstam (sv) c , stam (sv) c
Turkish: gövde (tr)
Ukrainian: осно́ва f ( osnóva ) , ко́рінь (uk) m ( kórinʹ )
Uzbek: negiz (uz)
Welsh: bôn (cy) m
typography: vertical stroke of a letter
music: vertical stroke of a symbol representing a note in written music
nautical: forward vertical extension of the keel
Component on a bicycle that connects the handlebars to the bicycle fork
Translations to be checked
References
“stem ”, in Collins English Dictionary .
Verb
stem (third-person singular simple present stems , present participle stemming , simple past and past participle stemmed )
To remove the stem from.
to stem cherries; to stem tobacco leaves
To be caused or derived ; to originate .
The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.
2023 June 2, H Conley, “Studies show top surgery is safe for fat patients, but some surgeons still mandate weight loss”, in STAT :Weight stigma often stems from an idea that patients are at fault for their body size.
To descend in a family line .
To direct the stem (of a ship) against; to make headway against.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville , chapter 41, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale , 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers ; London: Richard Bentley , →OCLC , page 199 :Nor is the pre-eminent tremendousness of the great Sperm Whale anywhere more feelingly comprehended, than on board of those prows which stem him.
( obsolete ) To hit with the stem of a ship; to ram .
1596 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , IV.ii:As when two warlike Brigandines at sea, / With murdrous weapons arm'd to cruell fight, / Doe meete together on the watry lea, / They stemme ech other with so fell despight, / That with the shocke of their owne heedlesse might, / Their wooden ribs are shaken nigh a sonder [ …]
To ram (clay , etc.) into a blasting hole .
Synonyms
Translations
to be caused or derived
Bulgarian: произхождам (bg) ( proizhoždam )
Czech: pramenit z impf , pocházet (cs) impf , odvozovat se impf
Finnish: johtua (fi) , aiheutua (fi) ; olla peräisin , periytyä (fi)
French: résulter (fr) , découler (fr)
German: kommen von (de) , herrühren von (de) , sich begründen auf , seine Ursache haben in , verursacht werden
Hungarian: ered (hu)
Italian: derivare (da) (it)
Japanese: 発端とする ( hottan to suru )
Macedonian: потекнува ( poteknuva )
Maori: take
Norwegian:
Bokmål: forårsake (no)
Occitan: venir de , provenir (oc) , derivar (oc)
Polish: wywodzić się (pl)
Portuguese: derivar (pt) , originar (pt)
Russian: происходи́ть (ru) impf ( proisxodítʹ ) , произойти́ (ru) pf ( proizojtí )
Slovak: byť sposobený , byť zapríčinený , koreniť
Spanish: arrancar (es) , venir de (es) , proceder de (es) , dimanar (es) ( formal )
Swedish: stamma (sv) , härstamma (sv) , härröra (sv)
to descend in a family line
to direct the stem of a ship against something
to hit with the stem of a ship; to ram
to ram something into a blasting hole
Etymology 2
From Middle English stemmen , a borrowing from Old Norse stemma ( “ to stop, stem, dam ” ) (whence Danish stemme /stæmme ( “ to stem, dam up ” ) ), from Proto-Germanic *stammijaną . Cognate with German stemmen , Middle Dutch stemmen , stempen . Compare stammer .
Verb
stem (third-person singular simple present stems , present participle stemming , simple past and past participle stemmed )
( transitive ) To stop , hinder (for instance, a river or blood).
to stem a tide
1636 (date written), John Denham , “The Destruction of Troy, an Essay upon the Second Book of Virgils Æneis ”, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy , 4th edition, London: for H Herringman , published 1668 , →OCLC :[They] stem the flood with their erected breasts.
( skiing ) To move the feet apart and point the tips of the skis inward in order to slow down the speed or to facilitate a turn.
In rock climbing, to use a stance with the feet spread apart, bracing them in opposite directions against the two walls of a chimney or dihedral.
Synonyms
Translations
to stop, hinder
Bulgarian: заприщвам (bg) ( zaprištvam ) , преграждам (bg) ( pregraždam )
Dutch: stoppen (nl) , hinderen (nl) , stelpen (nl)
Finnish: padota (fi) , seisauttaa (fi) ; tyrehdyttää (fi) ( flow )
French: arrêter (fr)
German: aufhalten (de) , hemmen (de) , entgegenstemmen , eindämmen (de) , stillen (de) , gegen etwas ankämpfen
Greek: σταματώ (el) ( stamató )
Hungarian: elállít (hu) , leállít (hu) , meggátol (hu) , megakaszt (hu)
Irish: coisc
Italian: arrestare (it) , tamponare (it)
Japanese: 堰止める ( sekitomeru )
Persian: بند آوردن (fa) ( band âvardan )
Polish: tamować (pl)
Portuguese: parar (pt)
Russian: проти́виться (ru) ( protívitʹsja ) , заде́рживать (ru) ( zadérživatʹ ) , ока́зывать сопротивле́ние ( okázyvatʹ soprotivlénije ) , препя́тствовать (ru) ( prepjátstvovatʹ )
Swedish: stoppa (sv) , hejda (sv) , hindra (sv) , stämma (sv) , dämma (sv)
skiing: to point the skis inward
Etymology 3
Noun
stem (plural stems )
Alternative form of steem
Etymology 4
Acronym of science , technology , engineering , (and) mathematics .
Noun
stem (plural stems )
Alternative form of STEM
2015 May 29, BBC News, How do US black students perform at school? :Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields are a particular cause for concern because within them there are more pronounced stereotypes, extreme competitiveness and gender inequities regarding the abilities and competencies of black male and female students.
Further reading
“stem ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913 , →OCLC .
“stem ”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911 , →OCLC .
Douglas Harper (2001–2024 ) “stem ”, in Online Etymology Dictionary .
Etymology 5
Blend of stud + femme
Noun
stem (plural stems )
A lesbian , chiefly African-American , exhibiting both stud and femme traits.
Synonym: futch
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Dutch stem , from Middle Dutch stemme , from Old Dutch *stemma , from Proto-Germanic *stebnō , *stamnijō .
Noun
stem (plural stemme )
vote
voice
1921 , “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika”, C.J. Langenhoven (lyrics), M.L. de Villiers (music), South Africa:Ruis die stem van ons geliefde, van ons land Suid-Afrika. Rises the voice of our beloved, of our country South Africa.
Etymology 2
From Dutch stemmen .
Verb
stem (present stem , present participle stemmende , past participle gestem )
to vote
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch stemme , from Old Dutch *stemma , from Proto-Germanic *stebnō , *stamnijō . Under influence of Latin vox ( “ voice, word ” ) , it acquired the now obsolete sense of “word”.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /stɛm/
Hyphenation: stem
Rhymes: -ɛm
Noun
stem f (plural stemmen , diminutive stemmetje n )
voice , sound made by the mouth using airflow
the ability to speak
Zij is haar stem kwijt. ― She’s lost her voice .
vote
( obsolete ) word
( phonetics ) voice , property formed by vibration of the vocal cords
Derived terms
Descendants
Verb
stem
inflection of stemmen :
first-person singular present indicative
imperative
Anagrams
Indonesian
Etymology
From English stem , from Middle English stem , stemme , stempne , stevin , from Old English stemn , from Proto-Germanic *stamniz , ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ( “ to stand, stay ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
stem (first-person possessive stemku , second-person possessive stemmu , third-person possessive stemnya )
( nautical ) stem : the vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel, to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached.
Further reading
Latin
Pronunciation
Verb
stem
first-person singular present active subjunctive of stō
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
stem
imperative of stemme
Norwegian Nynorsk
Verb
stem
imperative of stemme
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From English stamp .
Noun
stem
stamp