stem

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stem/^[1]

stem¹ plant stalk; front of a ship

Etymology

The stalk is Middle English stemme, inherited from Old English stemn (“trunk of a tree; end-post of a ship”), also stefn,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *stamniz,^[2][3][4] with a parallel form *stamnaz seen in Old High German stam (German Stamm), Old Saxon stamn and Old Norse stafn (“stem of a ship”).^[3][2][4] It is probably formed on the root of stand, PIE Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The main body of a tree or plant above ground, and either end of a ship: Old English, about 888 in the OED,^[5] before 899 in Alfred's Boethius in Barnhart.^[2] The ship's stempost is 1294–95 in Middle English.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Especially of the post at the bow, the word came to mean the front of a ship by the 1550s,^[4] as in from stem to stern.^[6] The stock of a family, the main line of descent, is from about 1540,^[5][3] and the stalk supporting a leaf, flower or fruit from 1590.^[5] An upright stroke of a letter or note is from the 17th century, and a slender cylindrical support, as of a wine glass or a pipe, from the 19th.^[3] In grammar the stem is the part of a word to which endings are added.^[6][7] The nautical verb, to keep a course or make headway, is from the late 14th century, literally to push the stem through,^[4][8] and to make headway against something from the 1590s.^[4] To stem from, to derive from, is originally American, from the 20th century.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 888 – Old English stemn, trunk of a tree.^[5][2]
• 1294–95 – the stempost of a ship.^[2]
• late 14th century – to make headway by sailing.^[4]
• c. 1540 – the stock of a family.^[5]
• 1550s – the front of a ship.^[4]
• 1590 – the stalk of a leaf or flower.^[5]
• 20th century – to stem from.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The main ascending axis of a plant, or a slender stalk bearing a leaf, flower or fruit.
2. A long, slender supporting part, as of a wine glass, pipe or watch.
3. (grammar) The part of a word to which inflections are added.
4. The upright timber or beam at the bow of a ship.

Verb

1. To come from or originate in: problems stemming from neglect.
2. To remove the stems from.
3. To make headway against, as a tide or current.

Word family

• stemless
• stemmed
• stem cell
• stemware

stem² to stop, check

Etymology

The verb meaning to stop is Middle English stemmen, probably borrowed from Old Norse stemma (“to stop, dam up”),^[2][4][9] from Proto-Germanic *stamjaną,^[4] which is also the source of Middle Dutch stemmen and German stemmen (“to stop, resist”).^[2][4] It is related to Old Norse stama (“to stammer”) (see stammer),^[2][9] and Etymonline derives it from PIE Proto-Indo-European *stem- (“to strike against”); it is not considered connected with stem¹.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To delay, hesitate or stop: before 1325 in Cursor Mundi in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The intransitive sense, to stop or tarry, is obsolete.^[4][8] To stop the flow of something, to check or dam up, liquid or speech, is from the mid-14th century, probably before 1350 in Barnhart.^[4][2] To stem the tide belongs here.^[4] In skiing, to stem is to turn the tip or tail of a ski outward to slow or turn, after German stemmen.^[8][6]

Timeline

• before 1325 – to stop, delay.^[2]
• before 1350 – to dam up, check.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To stop or hold back the flow of; to check: to stem the bleeding.
2. (skiing) To turn the tip or heel of a ski outward to slow down or turn.

Related words

• stand
• stammer
• stern
• staff

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster