| 释义 |
▪ I. stern, n.1|stɜːn|
Forms: 1 stearn, stearno, stærn, stern; 7 sterne, 9 stern, 9 dial. starn.
[OE. stearn, glossing L. beacita, fida, gavia and also sturnus. Cf. Fris. stern (steern); stern-k; stern-s (stirn-s, starn-s) sea-swallow, tern. The mod.E. vowel, if genuine, is probably the result of lengthening before -rn.
ME. examples are wanting, but W. Turner Avium præcipuarum historia, 1544, art. Gavia, speaks of a species ‘nostrati lingua sterna vocata’. The word was taken up by Gesner and other writers, whence probably it found its way into the Douay Bible. It was later adopted by Linnæus as the name of a genus Sterna; hence F. sterne.
The meaning ‘starling’, implied by early glosses to sturnus (stronus), seems to be found in mod. Somerset dial. (see Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Starn n.4); but the two names might easily be confused.]
A sea-bird; the tern, esp. the black tern (Hydrochelidon nigra).
c800Erfurt Gloss. 1116 Gavia, avis qui dicitur: stern saxonice. a950Seafarer 23 (Gr.) Stormas þær stanclifu beotan þær him stearn oncwæð isiᵹfeþera. 1609Bible (Douay) Lev. xi. 16 Of birdes these are they which you must not eate..the ostrich, and the owle, and the sterne, and the hauke. 1813Montagu Ornith. Suppl. Tern, black..Provincial. Stern. Car-Swallow. 1896Newton Dict. Birds 955 note, Starn was used in Norfolk in the middle of this century for the bird known by the book-name of Black Tern.
▪ II. stern, starn, n.2 Now only Sc.|starn|
Forms: α. 3 (Orm.) steorrne, sterrne, 4–6 sterne, 4–6, 9 stern; β. 4–6 starne, 6–9 starn.
[a. ON. stjarna: see star n.1]
= star n.1
αc1200Ormin 3646, & teȝȝre steorrne wass wiþþ hemm To ledenn hemm þe weȝȝe. Ibid. 7112 New sterrne & all unncuþ wass wrohht. a1300Cursor M. 375 Þe firmament..wit sterns, gret and smale. c1300Havelok 1809 Was non of hem þat his hernes Ne lay þer-ute ageyn þe sternes. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 9031 Þen ros a sterne..‘Comete’ ys cald in astronomye. 1375Barbour Bruce iv. 711 Thouch a man..Studeit swa in astrology, That on the sternis his hed he brak. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 17 Thare fell a grete stern out of the hevin. 1508Dunbar Golden Targe 1 Ryght as the stern of day begonth to schyne. 1599A. Hume Hymns ii. 121 Strange tailed sterns appeiris. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xvii, There's a heaven aboon us a',..and a bonny moon, and sterns in it forby. 1819W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 42 The sterns are blindet wi' the licht.
βc1375Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 167 Sancte martyne,..þat as a starne clerly schane. c1460Towneley Myst. xiv. 98 To wyt what this starne may mene. 1581J. Derricke Image Irel. (1883) 86 A passyng starne, to guide mans shipp aright. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 90/4 The Pleiades called the 7 starnis. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. iii. iii, Kiss, kiss! we'll kiss the sun and starns away. 1790Burns ‘O death! thou tyrant’ iii, Ye hills, near neebors o' the starns. 1835Carrick Laird of Logan (1841) 185 No a starn was to be seen i' the lift.
b. In transferred uses (see star n.1).
c1400Anturs of Arth. xxxi, With his sternes of gold, stanseld on stray. c1450Reg. Vestments etc. St. Andrews in Maitl. Club Misc. III. 205 Item thre gret sternis of brace for the kyrk. c1450St. Cuthbert 405 Þe calf is rede I vndertake, With a white sterne in þe fronte. 1454Test. Ebor. (Surtees) II. 176 Rede cape with starnes of gold. 1569–70G. Conyers Will in Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) Gloss., A blacke stagge with a starne in his forehead. 1814W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 145 The lairdy langs for titles braw, For ribbons an' for starns.
c. attrib. as † stern-leam, † stern-shot, a shooting star (cf. star-shot); † stern-slime, nostoc (cf. star n.1 22 b).
c1200Ormin 7276 Forr Crist sellf iss þatt sterrnelem Þatt all mannkinn birrþ follȝhenn. 1483Cath. Angl. 362/2 A Sterne slyme, assub. 1513Douglas æneis v. ix. 69 As dois oft sterne schot falling fra the hevin Drawand thair⁓efter a taile of fyrie levin.
▪ III. stern, n.3|stɜːn|
Forms: α. 4–8 sterne, 4 steorne, 5–6 steerne, 6 stierne, 6–7 stearne, 4– stern. β. 6, 9 starn dial., 7 starne dial. γ. 6 storne.
[Probably a. ON. stjórn fem. steering; an abstract formation with -nō suffix from OTeut. *steurjan, ON. stýra, OE. stíeran: see steer v. Cf. OFris. stiarne, stioerne stern, rudder.
This etymology accords with the scanty evidence of early distribution. But the earliest sense recorded in English, ‘hinder part of a ship’, appears in OFris. and not in ON., and a native origin is not impossible. Evidence is, however, lacking for the supposed OE. *stéorn.]
†1.
a. The steering gear of a ship, the rudder and helm together; but often applied to the rudder only, less commonly to the helm only. Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 149 Þe bur ber to hit baft þat braste alle her gere, Þen hurled on a hepe þe helme & þe sterne. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love i. i. (Skeat) 35 How shulde a ship, withouten a sterne, in the grete see be governed. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xc. (1869) 108 Þilke þat maketh þe gouernour slepe amiddes þe ship vnder þe mast, whan he hath lost oþer broken þe steerne. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 171 A tempest..bare many shyppys wyth theyr apparayll vnder water, brake theyr sternes and helmes [etc.]. 1607R. Wilkinson Merchant Royall 11 A ship..is yet commanded by the helme or sterne, a small peece of wood. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 657 This Beaver..having a long taile..which in his floting he useth in lieu of a sterne. 1640Habington Q. Arragon v. H 2, A storme Ore tooke the ship, so powerfull that the Pilot Gave up the Sterne to th'ordering of the waves. 1671tr. Palafox's Conq. China by Tartars xxiv. 414 They..made them content to bring ashore all their great Guns.., nay the very Sails and Sterns from off their Ships.
†b. transf. An apparatus which controls a horse, machine, etc. as a rudder controls a ship. Obs.
1607Markham Caval. ii. (1617) 213, I discommended them [sharp cavezans] vtterly as the first instruments or sternes wherewith to gouerne a Colt at his first backing. 1660Marquis of Worcester Exact Def. 15 The [Water-Commanding] Engine consisteth of..5. A Helm or Stern with Bitt and Reins, wherewith a Child may guide, order, and controul the whole Operation.
†c. fig. That which guides or controls affairs, actions, etc.; also, from (the metaphor of the ship of state), government, rule. Obs.
1577tr. Bullinger's Decades 1001 Whiche is the healme..and stearne of the Euangelists and Apostles doctrine. a1586Sidney Arcadia iii. (1598) 361 The turning of Zelmanes eye was a strong sterne enough to all their motions. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. vii. 233 His envious brethren's trecherous drift, Him to the Stern of Memphian State had lift. 1597Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) Pref., There is a God aboue that guideth the sterne of the world. 1602W. Fulbecke 2nd Pt. Parall. 15 Of both these riseth an action triable wel enough by the Canon Law: for in this matter the Canon is the sterne and motiue of our iudgements. c1618Moryson Itin. iv. i. vii. (1903) 111 To the hands of these 28 Familyes, the Stern of the Commonwealth was committed.
†d. In various phrases, with literal or figurative meaning. to be, sit, at the stern, to stand to stern, to conduct, guide, hold, keep, possess, rule, steer, turn the stern: to steer, govern, control, to occupy the seat of government. to take in hand the stern, to assume the government. Obs.
1401Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 109 Ne were God the giour, and kept the stern,..al schulde wende to wrak. c1500Three Kings' Sons 60 Some [shippes]..had neither saile ne maste, nor noman so hardy that durst conduyte the steerne. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge ii. 1183 Kynge Edgare kept the storne as most principall, Eche prince had an ore to labour with-all. a1542Wyatt Poems, ‘So feeble is the thread’ 83 Those handes..yt..rule the sterne of my pore lyff. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 6 Fye on hym that would take vpon hym to sitte and holde the stierne in a shyppe, hauyng none experience in y⊇ feate of marinershyp. a1547Surrey Poems, ‘Girt in my guiltless gown’ 6 How som to guyd a shyppe in stormes styckes not to take the stearne. 1553Respublica 278, I shall tell Respublica ye can beste governe: bee not ye than skeymishe to take in hand the stern. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 48 The father held the sterne of his whole obedience. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 152 Wee satt at y⊇ sterne, and had the weale publique in our rule and gouernement. 1577–87Holinshed Hist. Scot. 356/1 The male line..descended from the women, haue sometime possessed the sterne of Scotland. 1580Greene Mamillia i. (1583) 6 b, Construe al thinges to the best, turne the stearne the best waye. 1583Ibid. ii. (1593) D 3, Pilot..if thou hadst no greater cunning in stirring of the stearne. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 177, I intend to..sit at chiefest Sterne of publique Weal. 1593Churchyard Challenge 6 In greatest stormes, I stoutly stood to sterne, And turnd about, the shippe to winne the winde. 1604T. Wright Passions vi. 338 He that guideth by his providence the sterne of mens soules. 1625Deb. Commons (Camden, 1873) 87 He that was then at the sterne fetch't many sighes before he fetch' it aboute. a1708Beveridge Thes. Theol. III. 323 We are in a more special manner to pray for such as sit at the stern, and are in authority.
2. a. The hind part of a ship or boat (as distinguished from the bow and midships); in restricted sense, the external rear part of a ship's hull; also spec. in vessels of ordinary type, the overhanging portion of the hull abaft the sternpost. Often in collocation with stem, head. Also, the rear part of an aircraft.
c1300K. Horn 935 Þe hondes gonnen at erne In to þe schypes sterne. Ibid. 1412 He comen out of scyp sterne. c1440Promp. Parv. 474/2 Sterne, of a schyppe, puppis. 1526Tindale Mark iv. 38 He was in the sterne a slepe on a pelowe. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 86 Beholdinge the foreshippe & the sterne. 1608Shakes. Per. iv. i. 64 And with a dropping industrie they skip from sterne to sterne. 1622R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea xliv. 104 Our Shippe..coming a-ground in the sterne. 1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 8 First lay the Keele, the Stemme, and Starne, in a dry docke. 1773J. Hawkesworth Cook's 1st Voy. ii. x. III. 462 The ornament at the stern was fixed upon that end, as the stern-post of a ship is upon her keel. 1817Shelley Revolt Islam ix. ii. 5 The stern and prow Were canopied with blooming boughs. 1835Sir J. Ross Narr. 2nd Voy. N.-W. Passage v. 59 It would be necessary..to moor the ship both head and stern. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Stern, the after-part of a ship, ending in the taffarel above and the counters below. 1915Morning Post 9 Dec. 6/6 The Severn was anchored head and stern. 1931, etc. [see stern-post]. 1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 16 May 17 There is..a turret in the extreme stern.
transf.1878Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1882) II. 146 The round stern of a chapel, with a fringe of flying buttresses.
b. Phrases with preps.: on stern, a stern, ? also stern adv.: see astern. at stern, to stern: behind, in the rear of a ship; at (the) stern, used of a boat towed behind. (down) by the stern: see by A. 9 and quots. under the stern: under the overhanging part technically called the stern.
c1500Melusine xxxvi. 271 He lefte the Ermayns..at sterne. 1562J. Shute tr. Cambini's Turk. Wars 34 b, Wherupon they tawed the palandre after them at the storne of some of their galleys. 1574W. Bourne Regiment for Sea xiv. (1577) 40 b, The one place must be thwart of you, the other must be a head or stern of you. 1616Capt. Smith Descr. New Eng. 53 This examinate fell on sterne. 1633T. James Voy. 7 Our long Boate..we were faine to Towe at Sterne. a1779Cook 3rd Voy. ii. vi, Towards noon, a large sailing canoe came under our stern. 1806A. Duncan Life Nelson 70 She might anchor by the stern. 1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 56 If her stern be lower in the water than her head, she is by the stern.
c. stern-foremost: backwards, with the stern (senses 2, 3) first; also fig. stern on: with the stern presented.
1840Marryat Poor Jack xxxi, The man..backs out, stern foremost. 1852Hawthorne Blithedale Rom. viii, Few of our seeds ever came up at all, or, if they did come up, it was stern-foremost. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. i, The boat..drove stern foremost before it [the tide]. 1900Jrnl. Sch. Geog. (U.S.) June 231 [The ship] thus runs..the risk..of getting stern-on to the heavy sea. 1907‘Q.’ (Quiller-Couch) Poison Isl. xxv. 244 After a stroke or two I easied and let her back stern-foremost.
3. (Arising out of a figurative use of sense 2.) The buttocks of a person (chiefly humorous and vulgar) or animal; the hinder part of any creature.
1614B. Jonson Bart. Fair Induct., A Punque set vnder [a pump] vpon her head, with her Sterne vpward. 1830Marryat King's Own xxvi, When it was a kitten, they had cut off his tail close to its starn. 1836― Midsh. Easy xix, I was obliged to come up the side without my trousers, and show my bare stern to the whole ship's company. 1854Poultry Chron. I. 455 With, in the hens especially, a well⁓rounded stern. 1863W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vi. 179 Firing from the saddle, and giving the giraffe the ball in the stern. 1869Furnivall Forewords to Q. Eliz. Acad. p. xxiii, We don't want to..fancy them cherubs without sterns. 1913Engl. Rev. May 201 [The ducks] point their sterns into the air, and stick their heads under water.
4. The tail of an animal, esp. of a sporting-dog or a wolf. Also, † the fleshy part of a horse's tail; † the tail feathers of a hawk.
1575Turberv. Faulconrie 190 Fasten a bell upon the two couert feathers of your hawkes Stearne or trayne. 1576― Venerie 243 The tayle of a Wolfe is to be called his Stearne. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. i. 18 Tho wrapping vp her wrethed sterne arownd, Lept fierce vpon his shield, and her huge traine All suddenly about his body wound. 1607Markham Caval. i. (1617) 27 Others approue a Horses age in this sort: take him with your finger and your thumbe by the sterne of the tayle, close at the setting on of the buttocke. Ibid. ii. 9 His taile long and hairie..the sterne whereof, small and strong, and close coutched betwixt his buttockes. 1618Chapman Hesiod's Georg. ii. 223 Wilde beasts abhor him, and run clapping close Their stern's betwixt their thighes. 1677N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. (ed. 2) 149 The benefit of cutting off the tip of a Spaniel's Tail or Stern. 1682Lond. Gaz. No. 1684/4 Lost..a Fallow Greyhound Bitch, with a white spot at the end of her Sterne. 1725Bradley's Family Dict. s.v. Entering of Hounds, Some [hounds]..will prick up their Ears a little, and either Bark or wag their Stern or Ear. 1881V. Shaw Bk. Dog x. 91 The stern or tail [of the Bull-dog]..must be short and very fine. Ibid. xliv. 372 The Stern or Flag [of the Setter]. 1890S. W. Baker Wild Beasts & Ways II. 317 When he spoke..with stern erect and nose to the ground, there was a general rush by every dog.
†5. Used gen. for: Rear, latter end. Obs.
1623Hexham Tongue-Combat 48 You need not in the sterne of your Discourse recapitulate the notable pieces which you have proued.
¶6. Misused by Stubbes for: An ensign, flag.
1583Stubbes Anat. Abuses i. (1877) 51 An other sort..are content with no kind of Hatt without a great bunche of feathers..peaking on toppe of their heades..as sternes of pride and ensigns of vanitie. Ibid. 68 It [curling etc. of the hair] is the ensigne of Pride, and the stern [v.r. 1595 standerd] of wantonnes to all that behould it.
7. attrib. (all locative, referring to sense 2) as stern-anchor, stern-balcony, stern-beam, stern-becket, stern-davits, stern deck, stern-gun, stern-paddle (also attrib.), stern-plate (also attrib.), stern-sheave, stern-sling-bolt, stern-turret, stern-window.
1633T. James Voy. 82 Ice..brought home our *Sterne-Anker.
1904Hardy Dynasts i. ii. ii. 66 White sea-birds, which alight on the *stern-balcony of Villeneuve's ship.
1878T. L. Cuyler Pointed Papers 45 He lies down to slumber on the *stern-beam of the boat.
1897Kipling Capt. Cour. ii. 35 He..caught Dan's tackle, hooked it to the *stern⁓becket, and clambered into the schooner.
1863A. Young Naut. Dict. 389 *Stern-davits, pieces of iron or timber projecting from a vessel's stern to hoist boats up to.
1913Sir H. Johnston Pioneers Austral. iii. 99 They were received by the king on the *stern deck of a very large prau or native vessel.
1892Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 137 And the great *stern-gun shot fair and true, With the heave of the ship, to the stainless blue, And the great *stern-turret stuck.
1849W. S. Mayo Kaloolah vi. (1850) 50 The savage wielding the *stern paddle of the foremost canoe. 1905A. R. Wallace My Life II. xxxi. 139 We saw one of the old⁓fashioned stern-paddle steamboats.
1890W. J. Gordon Foundry 70 The tip only of the *stern-plate rivets is heated.
1890Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Oct. 7/1 It was astonishing to see the..cable..bob under the dynamometer, and up over the *stern-sheave, and finally dive into the water.
1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. (ed. 2) 216 Take the tow-line to the after thwart or foremost *stern-sling bolt.
1834Marryat P. Simple xxxii, Brigs having no *stern-windows, of course she could not see my manœuvre.
8. Special comb.: † stern-bearer, a rudder-bearer, ship; stern-boat, (a) a boat hanging at a ship's stern; (b) an attendant boat following astern; sterndrive [drive n. 6] Naut. (chiefly N. Amer.), an inboard engine connected to an outboard drive unit at the rear of a powerboat; stern-frame, (a) the framework of a ship's stern; (b) (see quot. 1908); stern-gallery (see gallery 2 d); stern-knee, = sternson; stern-ladder (see quots.); stern-line, = sternfast; stern-locker (see locker n.1 III.); stern-notch, a notch cut in the topmost plank of a boat's stern to receive an oar used in sculling or steering; stern-ornament, (a) an ornament on a vessel's stern; (b) jocularly, the tail of an animal; stern-piece, † (a) a gun mounted in the stern; (b) a flat piece of wood to which the side planks of a ship or boat are brought, so that it terminates the hull behind; stern-port, a port or window in the stern of a vessel; stern-race, a race in which one boat closely follows another without being able to overtake it; stern-rail, (a) an ornamental moulding on a ship's stern; (b) the rail placed about the deck at the stern; stern-rudder, the rudder at the stern, as distinguished from the bow-rudder with which some craft are fitted; stern sea, a sea which beats upon a ship's stern; a following sea; stern shot, a shot at the buttocks of a fleeing animal; stern speed, the speed of a vessel travelling stern-foremost with engines reversed; stern-timber (see quots.); stern-trawler, a trawler whose nets are operated from the stern of the vessel; stern tube, (a) the tube in which the propeller-shaft works; (b) a tube fitted in the stern of a warship from which torpedoes are discharged; stern-wager = stern-race; stern-walk (see quot. 1867); stern-way, the movement of a ship going stern-foremost; also transf.; sternways adv., in a position or direction facing to the stern; stern-works, jocularly, the buttocks. Also stern-board, -chase, -chaser, -fast, -man, -post, -sheet, -wheel.
1599Nashe Lenten Stuff 20 In M. Hackluits English discoueries I haue not come in ken of one..mediteranean *sternebearer sente from her [Yarmouth's] Zenith or Meridian.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. iv. v, Huge leathern vehicle:—huge Argosy, let us say, or Acapulco-ship; with its heavy *stern-boat of Chaise-and-pair. 1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 40 The jolly-boat..is very commonly called the stern⁓boat, if hung to davits over the ship's stern.
1968N.Y. Times 9 Feb. 31 When they appeared on the water about eight years ago, they looked like outboards with the power head sawed off... Variously called *stern drives, inboard-outwards, [etc.] .., they are one of the hottest items in recreational boating. 1976–7Sea Spray (N.Z.) Dec./Jan. 94/1 ‘Best way to beat the opposition is to join 'em’ would seem to be the philosophy behind a decision by C. W. F. Hamilton Marine Ltd to offer OMC, MerCruiser and Volvo sterndrives through its dealers.
1815Falconer's Dict. Marine (ed. Burney), *Stern-frame, in ship⁓building, is that frame of timber which is composed of the stern-post-transoms and fashion-pieces. 1880Times 17 Dec. 5/6 The Persian Monarch..is reported..to be leaking slightly; supposed around the stern frame. 1908Paasch From Keel to Truck 123 Stern-frame..forming in single⁓screw steamers stern-post, propeller-post, and the connections between them.
1842Dickens Amer. Notes xi. (1850) 111/1 All this I see as I sit in the little *stern-gallery.
1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 322 Sternson, or *Stern-knee, a piece of compass timber forming a continuation of a vessel's keelson.
1794Rigging & Seamanship I. 234 *Stern-ladders are made of cable-laid rope. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Stern-ladder, made of ropes with wooden steps, for getting in and out of the boats astern.
1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xvii. 157 Lay her in shore and stand by to jump with the *stern-line the moment she touches. 1898Jrnl. Sch. Geog. (U.S.) Oct. 306 The vessels..are secured with double bow anchors and usually two stern lines.
1849Cupples Green Hand xvi. (1856) 159 [The bird] was stowed away..into the *stern⁓locker.
1907‘Q.’ (Quiller-Couch) Poison Isl. xxv. 240 Slipping a paddle into the *stern-notch, [I] sculled gently for shore.
1885Rider Haggard K. Solomon's Mines iii, As though nature had..stuck the *stern ornaments of a lot of prize bulldogs on to the rumps of the oxen. 1908Paasch From Keel to Truck 98 Stern ornament.
1622R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea liii. 127 Our *stearne peeces were vnprimed. 1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 19 Giue him your stern peeces. 1895Outing XXVI. 382/1 Her [the yacht's] stern⁓piece is elliptical.
1591Ralegh in Last Fight Revenge (Arb.) 19 Besides those of her *Sterne portes. 1834Marryat P. Simple viii, One of them ere midshipmites has thrown a red hot tater out of the stern-port. 1903Conrad & Hueffer Romance ii. iv. 83 The stern-ports, glazed in small panes, were black and gleaming in a white framework.
1883J. Brinsley-Richards Seven Yrs. Eton xi. 106 Ricardo and Campbell were gamely rowing a good *stern-race, but no more.
1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 322 *Stern-rails,..narrow pieces of projecting plank on which mouldings are raised,—arranged on a vessel's stern and counter in various forms. 1914Blackw. Mag. Feb. 248/2 The finest sight in all the East—Bombay seen over the stern-rail of a P. & O. steamer.
1889Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. xiii. 136 The following remarks..will be confined to *stern rudders and the gear for actuating them.
1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 156 A very great *stern Sea, which staved the Long-boat against the Stern.
1863W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting v. 130 He [the rhinoceros] suddenly made right off, and I had only a *stern shot left me.
1904Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 6/2 For moderate speeds astern a reversing turbine was adequate, but for high *stern speeds a reciprocating engine was preferable.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 398/2 A curve described through the several points thus set off will be the representative of the *stern timber. 1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 342 Stern-timbers, a general name given to all the timbers in the stern-frame.
1961Times 9 Aug. 5/2 A large *stern⁓trawler..has been ordered by J. Marr and Son, of Hull. 1977Grimsby Even. Tel. 5 May 8/3 A new French stern trawler landed over 1,700 kits of blue ling on Grimsby Fish Docks this week. 1982Daily Tel. 29 July 2/4 The last modern stern trawler fleet in Britain was being forced into an increasingly nomadic existence.
1883Clark Russell Sailor's Lang., *Stern-tube, a cylinder in the after peak of a steamer in which the propeller shaft works. 1912Times 19 Dec. 20/2 Portuguese s. Beira..with propeller shaft port engine broken and stern tube cracked or broken. 1914C. W. Domville-Fife Submarine in War 144 The submarine might..then fire her stern tubes at close range.
1852J. F. Bateman Aquatic Notes 74 The Cambridge men..rowed a very plucky *stern-wager.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Stern-walk, the old galleries formerly used to line-of-battle ships. 1893Daily News 18 July 6/1 Looking out of a stern port into the stern walk. 1915‘Bartimeus’ Naval Occas. 161 While under the stern-walk a flock of gulls screeched and quarrelled.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) s.v. Aback, The sails..are laid aback,..to give the ship *stern-way. 1865Daily Tel. 16 Oct. 4/4 The steers⁓men of the public schools perceived that they were making stern-way; the age was overhauling them. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 179 Before going alongside a vessel.., observe if she have head or sternway.
1872Earl of Pembroke & G. H. Kingsley S. Sea Bubbles i. 8 Some [fish]..swimming or floating frontways, *sternways, sideways, with apparently equal ease and partiality.
1879Stevenson Trav. Cevennes (1886) 17 Plucking a switch out of a thicket, he began to lace Modestine about the *stern⁓works.
▪ IV. stern, a. (n.4 and adv.)|stɜːrn|
Forms: α. 1 styrne, 3–5 sturne, 3 stuyrne, 4–5 stuerne, 5 stourne; 4 sturen, 5 sturun; β. 3 Orm. stirne, 5 styrn; 5 stirrun; γ. 2 Kent. stiarne; δ. 3 steorne, 4–5 steerne, styerne, stierne(e, steirne; 4–5 steren(e, -in, -yn(e, -ynne; 6 stearne, 3–7 sterne, 4– stern.
[OE. (WS.) styrne, earlier *stierne evidenced by stiernlíce; see sternly adv. The ME. forms, particularly Ormin's stirne (cf. hirde from Anglian hiorde), point to an OTeut. type *sternjo-, which is represented only in English.
The Indogermanic root *ster-: *stor- is represented in several words with the sense ‘hard, rigid,’ or the like, e.g. Gr. στερεός solid, G. starr stiff, rigid; cf. stare v.]
A. adj.
1. Of persons and things personified, their dispositions and temper: Severe, strict, inflexible; rigorous in punishment or condemnation; not inclined to leniency.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. (Gr.) 60 Hæfde styrne mod ᵹegremod grymme. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1070, He wæs swiðe styrne man. a1225Ancr. R. 268 Rihtwisnesse, he seið, mot beon nede sturne. Ibid. 366 Ase þe moder þet is reouðful deð hire bitweonen hire childe & þe wroðe sturne ueder, hwon he wule beaten. 1340Ayenb. 130 Þou sselt uinde þane domes man zuo sterne and zuo stout and zuo strayt an zuo miȝtuol. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. 170 Then shal the stierne and wrothe Iuge sitte aboue. c1475Partenay 5730 Both stourne men & meke. 1607Shakes. Cor. iv. i. 24 My (sometime) Generall, I haue seene the sterne. 1776Gibbon Decl. & Fall xiv. I. 401 The stern temper of Galerius was cast in a very different mould; and while he commanded the esteem of his subjects, he seldom condescended to solicit their affections. 1781Cowper Conversat. 850 As stern Elijah said of old. 1841W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Isl. II. 341 A characteristic likeness of the stern, ambitious, military old bishop.
absol.1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. i. 537 The spell Which must bend the Invincible, The stern of thought. 1850Tennyson In Mem. cx. 9 The stern were mild when thou wert by.
b. Const. with, to, towards. (OE. dative.)
a1023Wulfstan Hom. (1883) 267/1 And æᵹðer he sceal beon mid rihte ᵹe milde ᵹe reðe, milde þam godum and styrne þam yfelum. c1205Lay. 3228 Hire fader hire wes sturne. Ibid. 6586 Wið þa goden he wes duhti and sturne [c 1275 sterne] wið þa dusie. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4951 King cadwal to him to sturne verst nas. a1547Surrey æneis ii. C ij b, Achilles was to Priam not so stern. 1847Prescott Peru (1850) II. 72 He was..towards his own people stern even to severity. 1900New Cent. Rev. VII. 401 They have to be stern with applicants who have grown up under a lax system.
c. Rigorous in morals or principles; uncompromising, austere.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. ii. met. vii. (1868) 60 What is now brutus or stiern Caton [L. rigidus Cato]? 1703Rowe Ulyss. iv. i. 1438 Honour stern, impatient of Neglect. 1742Blair Grave 538 The supple Statesman, and the Patriot stern. a1835Hogg Tales & Sk. (1837) VI. 12 Lord Nithsdale, who was a stern Catholic. 1837Wordsw. Cuckoo at Laverna 34 A few Monks, a stern society, Dead to the world and scorning earth-born joys. 1911Contemp. Rev. May 577 He was a stern moralist.
d. Of personal attributes, actions, utterances, feelings, etc.: Severe, strict, hard, grim, harsh.
a1225Ancr. R. 428 Uor swuch ouh wummone lore to beon—luuelich & liðe, and seldhwonne sturne. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 434 Not for his lordship ne his sterne power. 1687Dryden Hind & P. ii. 506 But when the stern conditions were declar'd, A mournful whisper through the host was heard. 1777Potter æschylus, Prometh. Chain'd 14 Is there a god, whose sullen soul Feels a stern joy in thy despair? 1814Wordsw. Laodamia 55 But thou, though capable of sternest deed, Wert kind as resolute. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 143 Even his enemies lamented the stern policy that dictated his execution. 1856Kane Arctic Expl. II. viii. 90 Desertion, or the attempt to desert, shall be met at once by the sternest penalty. 1892Verney Mem. I. 343 The stern solemnity of the speakers.
†2. Resolute in battle, steadfast, fiercely brave, bold. Obs.
c1205Lay. 31471 Ah Oswi wes cniht sturne. a1300K. Horn 877 (Camb. MS.) Þe paens þat er were so sturne, Hi gunne awei vrne. c1350Will. Palerne 3409 A ful breme bataile bi-gan þat ilk time, Whan eþer sides a-sembled of þo segges sturne. a1400Morte Arth. 157 Take kepe to thoos lordez, To styghtylle tha steryne mene as theire statte askys. c1400Destr. Troy 3960 Polidamas..A full strong man in stoure, sturnyst in Armys. c1450Holland Howlat 652 Thar was..Stanchalis, steropis strecht to thai stern lordis.
b. Of battle, debate and the like: Stubbornly-contested, fierce, hard.
c1205Lay. 20774 Þer gode cnihtes cumeð to sturne fihte. c1395Plowman's Tale 1 in Polit. Poems (Rolls) I. 304 A sterne strife is stirred newe. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 174 Steryn battaill he yaue. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 149 Stirring vp sterne strife. 1607Chapman Bussy d'Ambois ii. i. 32 His friends and enemies; whose stern fight I saw. 1777Potter æschylus, Prometh. Chained 16 When stern debate amongst the gods appear'd And discord in the courts of heav'n was rous'd. 1876Blackie Songs Relig. 182, I must go and do stern battle With herds of stiff⁓necked human cattle.
c. In alliterative verse and phrases, often with sense weakened, or influenced by the words with which it is coupled; as † stern on steed, † stern in steel, † stern in stour; † stern of slate, high in rank; † stern and stout; † a stern steed, a fiery steed.
c1300Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 883 Þe housbond was stern and stout. 13..Sir Beues 4500 He armede him in yrene wede And lep vpon a sterne stede. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 429 Non is sternere of stat ne stouter þan oþir. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1296 Armed ful wel, with hertes stierne and stoute. a1400Morte Arth. 3872 He was the sterynneste in stoure that euer stele werryde. c1400Aunturs of Arth. 391 (Thornton MS.) In stele was he stuffede, þat steryne was one stede. c1420Avow. Arth. xii, He had drede, and doute, Of him that was stirrun, and stowte. a1500–20Dunbar Poems xxvii. 81 He went agane to bene bespewit, So stern he wes in steill. 1576Gascoigne Philomene Wks. 1910 II. 194 Or if (quoth she) there bee Some other meane more sure, More stearne, more stoute, than naked sword.
†3. In a bad sense: Merciless, cruel. Obs.
c1205Lay. 25840 He wende to finden þene feond sturne. c1290St. Kenelm 202 in S. Eng. Leg. 351 And bi-cam stuyrne and bi-ladde hire men harde with muche wrech-hede. c1374Chaucer Troylus iv. 94 O sterne and cruwel fader þat I was. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 71 For drede of lyouns þat were cruel and sterne. c1400Brut xxx. 29 Artogaile..bicome so wickede and so sterne, þat þe Britons wolde nouȝt suffre hym to bene kyng. 1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. iii. 35 Thei ware sterne, and vnruly, and bruteshely liued. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 59 Pierst through the heart with your stearne cruelty. 1593― 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 213 Thy Mother tooke into her blamefull Bed Some sterne vntutur'd Churle. 1600― Sonn. xcvi, How many Lambs might the sterne Wolfe betray.
4. Of looks, bearing, gait: Indicating a stern disposition or mood; expressing grave displeasure; resolute, austere, gloomy.
1390Gower Conf. III. 289 The king declareth him the cas With sturne lok and sturdi chiere. 1400–20Lydg. Thebes 2118 And in despit who that was lief or loth, A sterne pas thorgh the halle he goth. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 616 On twa stedis thai straid, with ane sterne schiere. 1581A. Hall Iliad vii. 127 His countenaunce stout, his sterne martch, when they saw in such sort,..they doe beginne to ioye. 1591Lodge Catharos B 1 b, The still streame is deepest, & the stearne looke doublest. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iv. iii. 9 As I guesse By the sterne brow and waspish action..It beares an angry tenure. 1634Milton Comus 446 Gods and men Fear'd her stern frown. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 197 A man severe he was, and stern to view. 1818Shelley Rosal. & Helen 330 With the stern step of vanquished will. 1881M. E. Herbert Edith i. 18 Graver and sterner grew Mr. Gordon's face. 1890Doyle White Company vi, The soldier stood in front of them with stern eyes, checking off their several packages.
†b. Terrible or threatening in aspect. Obs.
c1205Lay. 17873 Com of þan steore a leome swiðe sturne. c1440Promp. Parv. 474/2 Sterne, or dredeful in syghte, terribilis, horribilis. c1450Merlin iii. 43 He come to hem like a begger,..and hadde a grym berde and steirne loke. 1573Baret Alv. S. 758 Sterne, cruell & sturdie in lookes, grimme, terrible, fell, toruus.
c. transf. Of a building: Severe in style; gloomy or forbidding in aspect. Cf. 7.
1822Scott Peveril xxxvi, Julian, who was led along the same stern passages which he had traversed upon his entrance, to the gate of the prison. 1833Wordsw. Lowther 3 Lowther! in thy majestic Pile are seen Cathedral pomp and grace, in apt accord With the baronial castle's sterner mien. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xix. 395 Paul..reared the vastest and sternest temple of his age.
5. Of the voice: Expressive of a stern disposition or mood. (Cf. 6 c.)
c1330Spec. Gy de Warw. 446 Wid sterne voiz and wid heie. a1400–50Wars Alex. 611 His steuen stiffe was [and] steryn þat stonayd many. 1817Scott Harold ii. vii, Stern accents made his pleasure known, Though then he used his gentlest tone. 1820― Monast. xix, Father Eustace..addressing Halbert in a stern and severe voice.
6. Of things, in various transferred uses.
†a. Of blows, weapons: Inflicting severe pain or injury. Obs.
c1025in Napier OE. Glosses 56/112 Asperis (uerberibus seu liuidis), styr[num] vel tear[tum]. a1175Cott. Hom. 231 Mid gode repples and stiarne swepen. Ibid. 239 Þe wereȝede gastes þe hine uniredlice underfangeð mid stiarne swupen. a1400Leg. Rood 184 Þe hamur bothe sterne and gret þe drof þe nayles þorow hond and fete. 1615Chapman Odyss. xiv. 375 About whom Mischiefe stood And with his stern steele, drew in streames the blood. 1805Scott Last Minstr. iii. vi, Stern was the dint The Borderer lent!
b. Of grief or pain: Oppressive, hard to bear.
c1300Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 174 Hir sorwe was strong and sterne. 1811Shelley Bereav. 1 How stern are the woes of the desolate mourner.
†c. Of sound: Harsh, menacing (cf. 5). Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1402 Sturnen [? read sturne] trumpen strake steuen in halle. 1390Gower Conf. I. 113 A trompe with a sterne breth, Which cleped was the Trompe of death.
†d. Of the weather: Severe, causing hardship.
c1449Pecock Repr. ii. ii. 146 To couere him fro reyne and fro othir sturne wedris. 1605Shakes. Lear iii. vii. 63 If Wolues had at thy Gate howl'd that stern time, Thou should'st haue said, good Porter turne the Key. c1611Chapman Iliad xxiv. 332 In this so sterne a Time Of night, and danger.
†e. Of a stream, a wind: Strong, violent. Obs.
13..Guy Warw. 5840 He com to a water sterne. c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 743 The sterne wynd so lowde gan to route That no wight oþer noyse myghte here. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 55 Lyk a Ryuer sterne, and of gret myght, He restyth nat nouther day nor nyght.
† f. Formidable in bulk, massive. Obs.
13..Gaw & Gr. Knt. 143 For of bak & of brest al were his bodi sturne, Bot his wombe & his wast were worthily smale. c1394P. Pl. Crede 214 And all strong ston wall sterne opon heiþe.
7. Of a country, or its physical features, the soil, etc. (with fig. notion of senses 1 and 4): Unkindly, inhospitable; destitute of amenity; forbidding in aspect, frowning, gloomy.
1812Byron Ch. Har. ii. xlii, Stern Albania's hills. 1814Wordsw. Excurs. ii. 92 Mountains stern and desolate. 1836W. Irving Astoria I. vii. 116 The Tonquin ploughed her course towards the sterner regions of the Pacific. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 196 The wild stern regions of European Turkey. 1884Princess Alice Mem. 5 The sterner scenery of the Scotch Highlands. a1894Stevenson In South Seas ii. ii. (1900) 154 The coco-palm in particular luxuriates in that stern solum.
8. Of circumstances and conditions, oppressive, compelling, hard, inexorable; esp. in the phrases stern necessity, stern reality.
1830Carlyle Richter Again Ess. 1840 II. 309 Poverty of a sterner sort than this would have been a light matter to him. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 193 The great enterprise to which a stern necessity afterwards drove him. 1854Poultry Chron. I. 92 It is useless to deny the stern fact, that [etc.]. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 174 The times were too stern to admit of nice distinctions. 1912Standard 20 Sept. 7/3 This is no flight of imagination; it is stern reality.
9. Comb.
a. parasynthetic formations, as stern-browed, stern-eyed, stern-faced, stern-featured, stern-gated, stern-lipped, stern-visaged adjs.;
b. complemental, as stern-born, stern-issuing, stern-looking, stern-sounding adjs.
1594Kyd Cornelia iv. i. 167 Braue Romaine Soldiers, sterne-borne sons of Mars. 1597Drayton Heroical Ep., Mortimer to Q. Isab. 87 And we will turne sterne-visag'd Furie backe. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche xvii. xlvi, The bold impetuousness Of stern-fac'd Mamalukes. 1725Pope Odyss. viii. 564 He sung the Greeks stern-issuing from the steed. 1776Mickle Lusiad iii. (1778) 99 The stern-brow'd tyrant roars and tears the ground. 1787Polwhele Engl. Orator ii. 4 A Warrior-Brood Stern-featur'd. 1825J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 151 Six evangelical, stern-looking men. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. vi. iii, They roll through the streets, with stern-sounding music. 1870Bryant Iliad xx. 50 Vulcan..Strong and stern-eyed. a1900S. Crane Gt. Battles (1901) 206 That curious stern-lipped stupidity.
†B. n. In alliterative verse: A stern or bold man. Obs.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 214 Þe stele of a stif staf þe sturne hit bi-grypte. c1400Destr. Troy 567 Ye may strive with no stuerne but of your strength nobill. c1400Aunturs of Arth. 532 (Douce MS.) Þe sturne strikes one stray. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 19 Mony sterne our the streit stertis on stray.
C. adv. or quasi-adv. Sternly, resolutely, severely, harshly.
a1175Cott. Hom. 231 Ȝief he fend were, me sceolden anon eter [= et þer] gat ȝemete..and stiarne hine besie. c1200Ormin 15514 He þratte stirne wind o sæ & itt warrþ stille & liþe. c1250Owl & Night. 112 Þe faukun..lude yal and sturne chidde. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 248 Noyther he..Lakketh, ne loseth ne loketh vp sterne. c1450Mirk's Festial 300 God lokud so sterne on hym. 1581A. Hall Iliad i. 12 Thereby displeasing Agamemn, himselfe so gloriously And sterne who beares. 16..in Peasants' Rising (1899) 49 The said maior beareth him so sterne and hawty. 1637Milton Lycidas 112 He shook his Miter'd locks, and stern bespake.
Comb.1727Broome Poems 223 The dreadful Brotherhood stern-frowning stands. 1912Contemp. Rev. Nov. 688 His stern-set, deep-lined mouth.
▪ V. stern, v.1|stɜːn|
[f. stern n.3; cf. ON. stjórna.]
†1. trans. and intr. To steer, govern. Obs.
14..Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 605/27 Proreto, to sterne or to stere out. 1577–86Stanyhurst Descr. Irel. iii. 26/1 in Holinshed, A castell..which is a notable marke for pilots, in directing them which waie to sterne their ships. 1615I. Bargrave Serm. E 2, There was need of a skilfull pilot to rule and sterne the ship of State. 1648Royalist's Def. 86 Suppose three single persons had jointly the Soveraigne power of government, no man can imagine, but that they would..sterne severall wayes.
2. trans. To propel a boat stern foremost; also intr. to go stern foremost.
In this sense developed from the whaling term stern all, the order to back off after an harpoon has been entered, where stern originally = astern.
[1823J. F. Cooper Pilot xvii, ‘Starn all!’ ‘Stern all!’ echoed Barnstable. Ibid., ‘Starn off, sir, starn off! the creater's in his flurry.’] 1845J. Coulter Aav. Pacific vii. 86 In I darted both irons with all my force—‘stern all—and stern they did quickly enough. 1892F. M. Crawford Childr. King (1893) I. 70 The dingy came rapidly back and the sailor sterned her to the rock for the boys to get in. 1904F. T. Bullen Creatures of Sea xix. 270 He [the swordfish] sterns clear, describes a great circle and..again buries his weapon deep in its vitals.
3. To place astern, in the phrase stern the buoy (see quot.).
1711Milit. & Sea Dict. s.v. Buoy, Stern the Buoy; that is, before they let the Anchor fall, whilst the Ship has Way, they put the Buoy into the Water, so that the Buoy-Rope may be stretch'd out strait, that so the Anchor may fall clear from entangling it self with the Buoy-Rope.
4. To cut off the tail of (a dog); see stern n.3 4.
1858Lewis in Youatt's Dog (N.Y.) v. 170 The often absurd fancy of cropping and sterning dogs.
Hence † ˈsterning vbl. n. steering, guidance. Also † ˈsterner, pilot, director.
a1634R. Clerke Serm. ii. (1637) 15 He that is Regens Sidera,..the Sterner of the Starres. 1638R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. III.) 230, I leave you liberty..to saile with the wind. Nothing but good success can be expected from your sterning.
▪ VI. † stern, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
[app. ad. L. sternĕre.]
trans. To cast down.
1599A. Hume Poems ii. 168 All things beneth the voult of heuin are sterned vnder feit.
▪ VII. stern, v.3 rare—1.
[f. stern a.]
trans. To make stern.
1722W. Hamilton Wallace 77 Wallace stern'd his Brow and cry'd My Life alone shall the long Strife decide. |