stem

Definitions

General English

noun the
tall

thin
part of a plant
which
holds a leaf, a
flower
or a fruit

Agriculture

noun a subsidiary plant
stalk
, branching out from the main stalk or attaching a leaf,
flower
or fruit

Information & Library Science

verb to search a
database
by inputting only the stem of a word with indicators before or afterwards to show that extra letters may be attached

Media Studies

noun an upright stroke, especially the main one, in a
letter
or character

Medical

noun a
thin
piece of tissue which attaches an organ or
growth
to the main tissue

Publishing

noun a vertical main part of a printed letter
noun the main part of a piece of metal type

Slang

noun a knife, particularly when carried or used for criminal purposes. An
item
of New
york

street
slang that spread to other English-speaking areas in the early 1990s.

Electronics

acronym forscanning transmission electron microscope
(written as STEM)
acronym forscanning transmission electron microscopy
(written as STEM)

Origin & History of “stem”

The stem (OE) of a tree is etymologically the upright part, the part

that

‘stands’ up. The word comes

from

prehistoric Germanic *stamniz, a derivative of the base *sta- ‘stand’ (

which

also

produced

English

stand). The application to the ‘front of a vessel’ (as in from stem to stern) comes from the notion of an ‘upright beam’ at the

prow

(and originally the

stern

also) of a

boat

, which dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Stem ‘stop’ (13^th c.) was borrowed from Old Norse stemma, a descendant of prehistoric Germanic *stamjan.

this

was formed from the base *stam- ‘stop, check’, which also produced English stammer and stumble.

Nearby Definitions of “stem”

Contexts for “stem”

9 definitions in context

Origin & History