stew English · revision 1025

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stu/; /stjuː/, /stʃuː/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|stewen|t=to bathe in a steam bath]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|estuver|t=to bathe; to stew]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) a word of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) possibly from [[la-vul|*extūfāre|t=to evaporate]], from ''ex-'' “out” and ''*tūfus'' “vapour”, [[der|grc|τῦφος|tr=tûphos|t=smoke]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The noun first meant a cooking pot or a heated room, from Old French ''estuve'' “heated room, bath”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It may be related to [[stove]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, a vessel for boiling, a cauldron (c. 1305)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and a heated room for steam baths (1390).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because public bath-houses were often used for immoral purposes, ''the stews'' came to mean brothels or a district of brothels (1362).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The verb meant “to bathe in a steam bath” (c. 1400)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and then “to cook by slow boiling” (c. 1420).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) The noun “meat slowly boiled with vegetables” is recorded only from 1756.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Figurative uses include ''to stew in one's own juice'', “to suffer the consequences of one's own actions” (1656 in other forms, 1885 in this one),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and ''in a stew'', “in a state of agitation” (1806).^(Etymonline) The slang ''stewed'' “drunk” dates from 1737.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1305 – a cauldron (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1362 – ''stews'', brothels.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – a heated room for hot baths.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to bathe in a vapour bath.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1420 – verb, to cook by slow boiling.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1737 – ''stewed'', drunk.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1756 – a dish of stewed meat.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1806 – a state of agitation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1970 – short for ''stewardess''.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cook (food) by slow boiling or [[simmer|alt=simmering]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be cooked in this way.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[swelter]] in a hot or stuffy place.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be in a state of anxiety, worry or suppressed resentment; to [[fret]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A dish cooked by stewing, especially meat or fish with vegetables in a [[stock]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A mixture likened to this dish; a [[hodgepodge]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A state of agitation or worry.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A [[brothel]], or a district of brothels.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' A flight attendant.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stewy]]

+ * [[stewpan]]

+ * [[stewpot]]

+ * [[Irish stew]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stove]]

+ * [[ragout]]

+ * [[casserole]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}