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stern

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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

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