Meaning of stem in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /stɛm/

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  1. Verb

    stem

    Etymology

    Middle English (in the sense ‘to stop, delay’): from Old Norse stemma, of Germanic origin. The skiing term (early 20th century) is from the German verb stemmen

    Definitions

    1. grow out of, have roots in, originate in

    Examples

    • « The increase in the national debt stems from the last war »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. cause to point inward

    Examples

    • « stem your skis »

    Derived terms

  3. 3. stop the flow of a liquid

    Examples

    • « staunch the blood flow »
    • « them the tide »

    Derived terms

  4. 4. remove the stem from

    Examples

    • « for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed »

    Derived terms

  5. Noun

    stem

    Etymology

    Old English stemn, stefn, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stam and German Stamm. stem (sense 4 of the noun) is related to Dutch steven, German Steven

    Definitions

    1. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

    Examples

    • « thematic vowels are part of the stem »
  6. 2. a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
  7. 3. cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
  8. 4. the tube of a tobacco pipe
  9. 5. front part of a vessel or aircraft

    Examples

    • « he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line »
  10. 6. a turn made in skiing

    Examples

    • « the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it »

Famous quotes

  • « Now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp. »
    Nancy Reagan
  • « The first misconception is that embryonic stem cell research is not legal. The fact is, embryonic stem cell research is completely legal. Research on embryonic stem cells has taken place for years. »
    Virginia Foxx
  • « Today, it is research with human embryonic stem cells and attempts to prepare cloned stem cells for research and medical therapies that are being disavowed as being ethically unacceptable. »
    Paul Berg
  • « Love thou the rose, yet leave it on its stem. »
    Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
  • « To date, embryonic stem cell research has not produced a single medical treatment, where ethical, adult stem cell research has produced some 67 medical miracles. »
    Mike Pence

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