stem

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“
The stem, three feet long, is bored by something similar to the technology for rifles -- in fact, the stem is about the length of a "long gun."

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Definitions (70)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (25)

  1. noun The main ascending axis of a plant; a stalk or trunk.
  2. noun A slender stalk supporting or connecting another plant part, such as a leaf or flower.
  3. noun A banana stalk bearing several bunches of bananas.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (31)

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Examples (50)

  • I need not mention, that, in order to give a finish, as it were, to the end of the ship, and to convert that into a source of ornament which might otherwise be deemed a deformity, the top of the stem has been appropriated as the position of the figure-head, the characteristic emblem of the vessel. —  The Lieutenant and Commander
  • The small hairs along the stem are actually root hairs and, when buried underground, will grow into new roots.
  • The stem, three feet long, is bored by something similar to the technology for rifles -- in fact, the stem is about the length of a "long gun." —  prairiemary
  • Interestingly, if you follow the etymology back far enough, they actually come full circle, since both (according to my 10 th Edition Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary) stem from the Latin —  MSDN Blogs
  • Attached to the stem is a steel spring that acts against the plate and holds the stem against a screw.
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

stalk ·  trunk ·  branch ·  twig ·  root ·  leaf ·  foliage ·  limb ·  bark ·  vine ·  blossom ·  clump

Used in the same contextWord Family

stem:   stemmed ·  stemming ·  stems
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English stefn, stemn; see stā- in Indo-European roots.
  2. Middle English stemmen, from Old Norse stemma.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English stem, stam, from Anglo-Saxon stemn, stefn, stæfn, also stofn (later English dial. stovin), stem, trunk (of a tree), = Dutch stam, stem, trunk, stock (of a tree or family), = Middle Low German stam, stamme, stem, stock, = Old High German Middle High German stam (stamm-), German stamm, stem (of a tree), trunk, tree, stock, race, = Icelandic stofn, stomn, stem, trunk of a tree, = Swedish stam = Danish stamme (in comp. stam-), stem, trunk, stock (of a tree), stock, race, family (also with some variation of form in a particular sense, ‘the prow of a vessel’: see stem); = Old Irish tamon, Irish tamhān (for *stamon), stem, trunk; cf. Greek στάμνος, an earthen jar; with formative -mn-, from √ sta, stand: see stand. Not related to staff, except remotely.
  2. from stem, n.
  3. from Middle English *stem, stam, from Anglo-Saxon *stemn, stefn, *stæfn, also stefna, stæfna, the prow of a ship (steórstefn, the poop, literally ‘steer-stem’). = Old Saxon stamn = Dutch steven = Middle Low German Low German steven, prow of a ship (later G. steven, stem (vorder-steven, ‘fore stem,’ prow, hinter-steven, ‘hind stem,’ stern-post)), = Icelandic stafn, stamn, also stefni, stemni, stem of a ship (prow or stern), = Danish stevn, stavn = Swedish stäf, prow (fram-stam, ‘fore stem,’ prow, bakstam, ‘back stem,’ stem); a particular use, with variations of form, of Anglo-Saxon stemn, stefn, English stem, etc., stem, trunk, post: see stem. The nautical use in English is prob. in part of Scandinavian origin.
  4. from Middle English stemmen; from Icelandic stemma = Swedish stämma = Danish stemme, stem, = Old High German Middle High German stemmen, stemen, German stemmen, stämmen, stop, stem, dam; from √ stam in stam, stammer, etc.: see stammer. Not connected with stem or stem.
 

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/stɛm/
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