† restemv.
Obsolete.
transitive. To make (one's way, course, etc.) back against the direction of the current or tide. Also: to make renewed headway against (the sea).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (transitive)] > set a ship's course > stem (a course, waves, etc.) > again
restema1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1623) i. iii. 38 Of thirtie Saile: and now they do re-stem Their backward course.
1792 M. A. Meilan tr. F. de S. de La Mothe-Fénelon Adventures Telemachus (ed. 2) I. ix. 360 Thus sure then to re-stem your liquid way.
1837 Metropolitan 18 299 The brave Tom Brown and his companions three re-stemmed their backward course.
1866 P. S. Worsley in G. H. Strutt Poems 151 Heal the crazed wreck, and make her strengthless knees Fit to re-stem the seas?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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