stern

Stern, severe, is a native word; stern, the back of a ship, probably came from Old Norse.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /stɜːn/, US /stɝːn/^[4]

stern¹ severe

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English sterne, inherited from Old English styrne (“severe, harsh, strict”),^[1][5][2][3] from Proto-Germanic *sternijaz,^[1][5] related to starian (“to stare”) (see stare),^[1][5][2] from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Severe, harsh, grave: before 1000.^[1][5][2]

Semantic evolution

Middle English sterne is from about 1250, in The Owl and the Nightingale.^[1] Rigorous in morals, and grim in looks, are from the late 14th century,^[5] and expressing displeasure from the 14th.^[2] Middle English also used it for bold or valiant, and of desolate places or potent medicines.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1000 – severe.^[1]
• c. 1250 – sterne.^[1]
• late 14th century – grim, forbidding.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Strict, firm or authoritarian.
2. Harsh or severe; without leniency.
3. Grim or forbidding in appearance.
4. Relentless; unyielding.

Word family

• sternly
• sternness

stern² back of a ship

Etymology

The back of a ship is inherited from Middle English sterne, probably borrowed from Old Norse stjórn (“steering”), related to stýra (“to steer”) (see steer).^[1][5][2][3] It may instead have come through Old Frisian stiārne (“rudder”).^[1][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The back part of a ship: probably about 1225, in King Horn, in Barnhart; the early 13th century in Etymonline.^[1][5]

Semantic evolution

The steering gear itself, the rudder and helm, is from the 14th century.^[6][2] Figuratively, that which guides affairs is from 1577.^[6] Colloquially, the rear of an animal or person is from the 1570s.^[5][2] The stern-wheel is from 1816, and the American stern-wheeler from 1855.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – the back of a ship.^[1]
• 14th century – the steering gear.^[6]
• 1570s – the buttocks.^[5]
• 1855 – stern-wheeler (US).^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The rear part of a ship or boat.
2. Any rear part.

Word family

• sternpost
• stern-wheeler

Related words

• stare
• steer
• starboard

Usage notes

Two old words are spelled stern: a sea bird, the tern (about 800), and a northern and Scots word for a star, from Old Norse stjarna.^[6][5][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press