sternn.1
/stəːn/, U.S. /stərn/ A sea-bird; the tern, esp. the black tern ( Hydrochelidon nigra).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > member of genus Sterna (tern)
stern1609
sternet1638
sea-swallow1647
tern1678
rittock1774
mackerel gull1792
gull-teaser1802
kip1802
rippock1806
kingbird1831
pirr1875
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > other types of tern > childonias nigra (black tern)
stern1609
scarecrow1676
black tern1678
c800 Erfurt Gloss. 1116 Gavia, avis qui dicitur: stern saxonice.
OE Seafarer 23 Stormas þær stanclifu beotan, þær him stearn oncwæð isigfeþera.
1609 Bible (Douay) I. Lev. xi. 16 Of birdes these are they which you must not eate..the ostrich, and the owle, and the sterne, and the hauke.
1813 G. Montagu Suppl. Ornithol. Dict. at Tern—Black Provincial. Stern. Car-Swallow.
1896 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. IV 955 (note) Starn was used in Norfolk in the middle of this century for the bird known by the book-name of Black Tern.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sternn.3
/stəːn/, U.S. /stərn/ 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. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > steering equipment > [noun]
helmc725
sternc1400
steerage1857
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 149 Þe bur ber to hit baft þat braste alle her gere, Þen hurled on a hepe þe helme & þe sterne.
c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) ii. xc. 108 Þilke þat maketh þe gouernour slepe amiddes þe ship vnder þe mast, whan he hath lost oþer broken þe steerne.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 85 A tempest..bare many shyppys wyth theyr apparayll vnder water brake theyr sternes and helmes [etc.].
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxvi Howe shulde a shippe withouten a sterne in the great see be gouerned.
1607 R. Wilkinson Merchant Royall 11 A ship..is yet commanded by the helme or sterne, a small peece of wood.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 657 This Beaver..having a long taile..which in his floting he useth in lieu of a sterne.
1640 W. Habington Queene of 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.
1671 tr. J. de Palafox y Mendoza Hist. Conquest of 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > [noun] > steering > any apparatus for
stern1607
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 213 I discommended them [sc. sharp cavezans] vtterly as the first instruments or sternes wherwith to gouerne a Colt at his first backing.
1660 Marquis 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > guidance > that which guides
lodestarc1374
clew1385
Palinurus1567
stern1577
thread1580
twist1580
sea-mark1589
Pole Star1590
cynosure1596
buoya1603
oracle1612
leading light1653
gospela1674
indexc1750
polar stara1774
pilot star1789
clue1840
guidance1841
guideline1917
breadcrumb trail1969
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > [noun] > control vested in the government
stern1577
the reins of government1607
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. III. v. vii. sig. Mmmm.viiiv/2 Whiche..is the healme..and stearne of the Euangelists and Apostles doctrine.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Hh5v The turning of Zelmanes eye, was a strong sterne enough to all their motions.
1597 T. Beard Theatre Gods Iudgements Pref. There is a God aboue that guideth the sterne of the world.
1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law ii. 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.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vii. 239 His enuious brethrens treacherous drift, Him to the sterne of Memphian State had lift.
a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) i. vii. 111 To the hands of these 28 Familyes, the Stern of the Commonwealth was committed.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > guidance > means of
helmc888
stern1401
leading-rein1864
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > steer ship of state [verb (intransitive)] > assume the government
to take in hand the stern?1553
1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 109 Ne were God the giour, and kept the stern,..al schulde wende to wrak.
c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 60 Some [shippes]..had neither saile ne maste, nor noman so hardy that durst conduyte the steerne.
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xv. sig. p.viv Kynge Edgar kept the storne, as most principall Eche prince had an ore to labour with all.
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) xcviii. 83 Those handes..that..rule the sterne of my pore lyff.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 6 Fye on hym that would take vpon hym to sitte and holde the stierne in a shyppe, hauyng none experience in ye feate of marinershyp.
a1547 Earl of Surrey Girt in Guiltless Gown in Poems 6 How som to guyd a shyppe in stormes styckes not to take the stearne.
?1553 Respublica (1952) i. iii. 10 I shall tell Respublica ye can beste governe, bee not ye than skeymishe to take in hand the stern.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 12 The father, held the sterne of his whole obedience.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 152 Wee satt at ye sterne, and had the weale publique in our rule and gouernement.
1583 R. Greene Mamillia i. f. 6v Construe al thinges to the best, turne the stearne the best waye.
1587 R. Holinshed et al. Hist. Scotl. (new ed.) 356/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II The male line..descended from the women, haue sometime possessed the sterne of Scotland.
a1592 R. Greene Mamillia (1593) ii. sig. D 3 Pilot..if thou hadst no greater cunning in stirring of the stearne.
1593 T. Churchyard Challenge 6 In greatest stormes, I stoutly stood to sterne, And turnd about, the shippe to winne the winde.
1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) vi. 338 He that guideth by his providence the sterne of mens soules.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. i. 177 I intend to..sit at chiefest Sterne of publique Weale. View more context for this quotation
1625 in S. R. Gardiner Deb. House of Commons (1873) 87 He that was then at the sterne fetch't many sighes before he fetch' it aboute.
a1708 W. Beveridge Thes. Theologicus (1711) III. 323 We are in a more special manner to pray for such as sit at the stern, and are in authority.
2. in extended use.1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights II. 146 The round stern of a chapel, with a fringe of flying buttresses.
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 n.2, head n.1 Also, the rear part of an aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun]
sternc1300
after-ship1356
poop1489
tail1553
dockc1565
after-quarter1599
post1622
after-body1822
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > rear part of aircraft
tail1804
stern1931
c1300 K. Horn 935 Þe hondes gonnen at erne In to þe schypes sterne.
c1300 K. Horn 1412 He comen out of scyp sterne.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 474/2 Sterne, of a schyppe, puppis.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark iv. f. xlix He was in the sterne a slepe on a pelowe.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. v. f. 27 Beholdinge the foreshippe and the sterne.
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xv. 114 And with a dropping industrie they skip from sterne to sterne. View more context for this quotation
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xliv. 104 Our Shippe..comming a-ground in the sterne.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 8 First lay the Keele, the Stemme, and Starne, in a dry docke.
1770 J. Cook Jrnl. 31 Mar. (1955) I. 283 The stern orament [sic] was 14 feet high, about 2 feet broad and about an 1½ Inch thick, it was fix'd upon that Stern of the Canoe like the Stern post of a Ship upon the keel.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna ix. ii. 194 The stern and prow Were canopied with blooming boughs.
1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage v. 59 It would be necessary..to moor the ship both head and stern.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Stern, the after-part of a ship, ending in the taffarel above and the counters below.
1915 Morning Post 9 Dec. 6/6 The Severn was anchored head and stern.
1931 Flight 10 Apr. 324/2 Cases have occurred of the raised flange on plate NA 507, which secures the sternpost to the top longeron, bending and cracking in way of the taper pin.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 16 May 17 There is..a turret in the extreme stern.
b. Phrases with prepositions: on stern, a stern, ? also stern adv.: see astern adv. and prep. at stern, to stern: behind, in the rear of a ship; at (the) stern, used of a boat towed behind. (down) by the stern: with the stern lower in the water than the bows; cf. by the head at head n.1 Phrases 1d. under the stern: under the overhanging part technically called the stern.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > in the rear (of) [phrase]
on, in steerc1374
a sternc1500
on stern1616
astern of1634
in wake of1711
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [phrase] > with stern lower than head
(down) by the stern1664
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > in the rear (of) [phrase] > under overhanging part
under the stern1777
c1500 Melusine (1895) xxxvi. 271 He lefte the Ermayns..at sterne.
1562 J. Shute tr. A. Cambini in Two Comm. Turcks i. f. 34v Whervpon they tawed the palandre after them at ye sterme [sic] of some of their galleys.
1574 W. Bourne Regim. for Sea (1577) xiv. 40 b The one place must be thwart of you, the other must be a head or stern of you.
1616 J. Smith Descr. New Eng. 53 This examinate fell on sterne.
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 7 Our long Boate..we were faine to Towe at Sterne.
1664 E. Bushnell Compl. Ship-wright 7 The most Ships saile by the Sterne.
1777 J. Cook Jrnl. 21 May (1967) III. i. 111 When I went on board to dinner I found a large sailing Canoe fast to the Ships stern.
1806 A. Duncan Life Nelson 70 She might anchor by the stern.
1846 A. 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 figurative. stern on: with the stern presented.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [phrase] > backwards
stern-foremost1840
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > in the rear (of) [phrase] > with the stern presented
stern on1900
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxxi. 222 The man..backs out, stern foremost.
1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance viii. 78 Few of our seeds ever came up at all, or, if they did come up, it was stern-foremost.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. i. 1 The boat..drove stern foremost before it [the tide].
1900 Jrnl. School Geogr. (U.S.) June 231 [The ship] thus runs..the risk..of getting stern-on to the heavy sea.
1907 ‘Q’ Poison Island 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 slang) or animal; the hinder part of any creature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun]
flitcha700
arse-endseOE
culec1220
buttockc1300
tail1303
toutec1305
nagea1325
fundamentc1325
tail-end1377
brawna1382
buma1387
bewschers?a1400
crouponc1400
rumplec1430
lendc1440
nachec1440
luddocka1475
rearwarda1475
croupc1475
rumpc1475
dock1508
hurdies1535
bunc1538
sitting place1545
bottom?c1550
prat1567
nates1581
backside1593
crupper1594
posteriorums1596
catastrophe1600
podex1601
posterior1605
seat1607
poop1611
stern1631
cheek1639
breeka1642
doup1653
bumkin1658
bumfiddle1661
assa1672
butt1675
quarter1678
foundation1681
toby1681
bung1691
rear1716
fud1722
moon1756
derrière1774
rass1790
stern-post1810
sit-down1812
hinderland1817
hinderling1817
nancy1819
ultimatum1823
behinda1830
duff?1837
botty1842
rear end1851
latter end1852
hinder?1857
sit1862
sit-me-down1866
stern-works1879
tuchus1886
jacksy-pardy1891
sit-upon1910
can1913
truck-end1913
sitzfleisch1916
B.T.M.1919
fanny1919
bot1922
heinie1922
beam1929
yas yas1929
keister1931
batty1935
bim1935
arse-end1937
twat1937
okole1938
bahookie1939
bohunkus1941
quoit1941
patoot1942
rusty-dusty1942
dinger1943
jacksie1943
zatch1950
ding1957
booty1959
patootie1959
buns1960
wazoo1961
tush1962
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > rump
arseeOE
croupc1300
crouponc1400
rumpc1425
rumplec1430
narsea1500
podex1601
poop1611
rump enda1658
breech1710
cushion1710
postabdomen1824
stern1830
bottle1935
dinger1943
ding1957
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre Induct. sig. A4v in Wks. II A fine Pumpe..and a Punque set vnder vpon her head, with her Sterne vpward.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. vi. 88 When it was a kitten, they had cut off his tail close to his starn.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. iii. 62 I am obliged to come up the side without my trousers, and show my bare stern to the whole ship's company.
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 455 With, in the hens especially, a well~rounded stern.
1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vi. 179 Firing from the saddle, and giving the giraffe the ball in the stern.
1869 F. J. Furnivall in H. Gilbert Queene Elizabethes Achademy Forewords p. xxiii We don't want to..fancy them cherubs without sterns.
1913 Eng. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail
taila800
starteOE
mugglec1275
rumpc1425
caude1572
stern1575
fud1710
flag1859
pole1864
stern-ornament1885
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > [noun] > genus Canis > canis lupus (wolf) > parts of
wolf's-headc1000
stern1575
wolf's-milk1847
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > tail > part of
horsehaira1387
stern1575
strumple1598
strunt1610
truncheon1639
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > hawk > parts of > feathers > of tail
beam-feather1486
stern1575
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > parts of
stern1677
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 189 Fasten a Bell vpon the two couert feathers of your Hawkes Stearne or Trayne.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxxix. 241 The tayle of a Wolfe is to be called his Stearne.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A5v Tho wrapping vp her wrethed sterne arownd, Lept fierce vpon his shield, and her huge traine All suddenly about his body wound.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice i. 27 Others approue a Horses age in this sort, take him with your fingar and your thumbe by the sterne of the tayle, close at the setting on of the buttocke.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 9 His tayle long and hayrie..the sterne whereof, small and strong, and close coutched betwixt his buttockes.
1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks ii. 223 Wilde beasts abhor him, and run clapping close Their stern's betwixt their thighes.
1677 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 2) i. 149 The benefit of cutting off the tip of a Spaniel's Tail or Stern.
1682 London Gaz. No. 1684/4 Lost..a Fallow Greyhound Bitch, with a white spot at the end of her Sterne.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Entering of Hounds Some [hounds]..will prick up their Ears a little, and either Bark or wag their Stern or Ear.
1881 V. Shaw Bk. Dog x. 91 The stern or tail [of the Bull-dog]..must be short and very fine.
1881 V. Shaw Bk. Dog xliv. 372 The Stern or Flag [of the Setter].
1890 S. W. Baker Wild Beasts II. 317 When he spoke..with stern erect and nose to the ground, there was a general rush by every dog.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the latter part
eveningOE
enda1200
eventide?c1225
finea1350
tail1377
latter (last) enda1382
issue1484
latter day?1498
waning1561
last days1572
heel1584
sunsetting1593
fall1596
lag-end1598
posterior1598
sunset1599
dotage1606
exit1615
stern1623
waning timea1639
last1683
heel piecea1764
shank1828
tail-end1845
tailpiece1869
tag1882
teatime1913
end-point1921
1623 H. Hexham 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.
ΚΠ
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Dvii 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 ensignes of vanitie.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Fiiv It [sc. curling etc. of the hair] is the ensigne of Pride, and the stern [v.r. 1595 standerd] of wantonnes to all that behould it.
Compounds
C1. attributive (all locative, referring to sense 2).
stern-anchor n.
ΚΠ
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 82 Ice..brought home our Sterne-Anker.
stern-balcony n.
ΚΠ
1904 T. Hardy Dynasts: Pt. 1st ii. ii. 66 White sea-birds, which alight on the stern-balcony of Villeneuve's ship.
stern-beam n.
ΚΠ
1878 T. L. Cuyler Pointed Papers 45 He lies down to slumber on the stern-beam of the boat.
stern-becket n.
ΚΠ
1896 R. Kipling Captains Courageous ii, in McClure's Mag. Nov. 26/2 He..caught Dan's tackle, hooked it to the stern-becket, and clambered into the schooner.
stern-davits n.
ΚΠ
1863 A. Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2) 389 Stern-davits, pieces of iron or timber projecting from a vessel's stern to hoist boats up to.
stern deck n.
ΚΠ
1913 H. H. Johnston Pioneers Australasia iii. 99 They were received by the king on the stern deck of a very large prau or native vessel.
stern-gun n.
ΚΠ
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 137 And the great stern-gun shot fair and true, With the heave of the ship, to the stainless blue.
stern-paddle n. (also attributive).
ΚΠ
1849 W. S. Mayo Kaloolah vi. 50 The savage wielding the stern paddle of the foremost canoe.
1905 A. R. Wallace My Life II. xxxi. 139 We saw one of the old~fashioned stern-paddle steamboats.
stern-plate n. (also attributive).
ΚΠ
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 70 The tip only of the stern-plate rivets is heated.
stern-sheave n.
ΚΠ
1890 Pall 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.
stern-sling-bolt n.
ΚΠ
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 171 Take the tow-line to the after thwart or foremost stern-sling bolt.
stern-turret n.
ΚΠ
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 137 The great stern-turret stuck.
stern-window n.
ΚΠ
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xiii. 226 Brigs having no stern-windows, of course she could not see my manœuvre.
C2. Special combinations. Also stern-board n.1, stern-chase n., stern-chaser n., stern-fast n., sternman n., stern-post n., stern-sheet n., stern-wheel n.† stern-bearer n. Obsolete a rudder-bearer, ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun]
shipc725
beamOE
boardOE
bargea1300
steera1300
vessela1300
treea1382
loomc1400
man1473
ark1477
bottom1490
keela1547
riverboat1565
craft1578
pine1592
class1596
flood-bickerer1599
pitchboard1599
stern-bearer1599
wooden horse1599
wooden isle1603
water treader?1615
water house1616
watercraft1618
machine1637
prore1642
lightman1666
embarkation1690
bark1756
prowa1771
Mudian1813
bastiment1823
hooker1823
nymph1876
M.F.V.1948
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 20 In M. Hackluits English discoueries, I haue not come in ken of one..mediteranean sternebearer sente from her [sc. Yarmouth's] Zenith or Meridian.
stern-boat n. (a) a boat hanging at a ship's stern; (b) an attendant boat following astern.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > boat attendant on larger vessel > [noun] > following astern
stern-boat1837
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > boat attendant on larger vessel > [noun] > ship's boat > stowed in specific place
stern-boat1837
boom-boat1867
waist-boat1891
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iv. v. 233 Huge leathern vehicle;—huge Argosy, let us say, or Acapulco-ship; with its heavy stern-boat of Chaise-and-pair.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 40 The jolly-boat..is very commonly called the stern~boat, if hung to davits over the ship's stern.
sterndrive n. [drive n. 20] Nautical (chiefly North American) an inboard engine connected to an outboard drive unit at the rear of a powerboat.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > propulsion machinery > [noun] > marine engine > types of
steeple engine1839
launch-engine1875
kicker1928
inboard1929
outboard1935
outdrive1961
trolling motor1964
sterndrive1968
thruster1972
putter1975
1968 N.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 Sea Spray (N.Z.) Dec. 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.
stern-frame n. (a) the framework of a ship's stern; (b) (see quot. 1908).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > framework of
stern-frame1815
transom1857
transom-frame1874
1815 W. Burney Falconer's New Universal Dict. Marine (rev. ed.) Stern-frame, in ship-building, is that frame of timber which is composed of the stern-post-transoms and fashion-pieces.
1880 Times 17 Dec. 5/6 The Persian Monarch..is reported..to be leaking slightly; supposed around the stern frame.
1908 H. Paasch From Keel to Truck (ed. 4) 123 Stern-frame..forming in single~screw steamers stern-post, propeller-post, and the connections between them.
stern-gallery n. (see gallery n. 2d).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > balcony or gallery at stern or quarter
gallery1627
balcony1666
quarter-gallery1740
stern-gallery1842
stern-walk1867
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes II. iii. 82 All this I see, as I sit in the little stern-gallery.
stern-knee n. = sternson n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > parts supporting stern-post
crutch1769
heel knee1830
stern-knee1846
sternson1846
sternson-knee1849
clutch1850
oxter-plate1884
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 322 Sternson, or Stern-knee, a piece of compass timber forming a continuation of a vessel's keelson.
stern-ladder n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > ladder or gang-plank
ship-ladderc1050
fall-bridge1487
way-shide1535
gallery ladder1706
side ladder1724
gangboard1769
gangway ladder1778
gangplank1785
stern-ladder1794
race board1808
gangway1846
brow1867
boarding-bridge1878
passerelle1989
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 234 Stern-ladders are made of cable-laid rope.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Stern-ladder, made of ropes with wooden steps, for getting in and out of the boats astern.
stern-line n. = stern-fast n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > for securing vessel > at stern
stern-fast1569
stern-line1880
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xvii. 157 Lay her in shore and stand by to jump with the stern-line the moment she touches.
1898 Jrnl. School Geogr. (U.S.) Oct. 306 The vessels..are secured with double bow anchors and usually two stern lines.
stern-locker n. (see locker n.1 II.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > room, locker, or quarters > [noun] > locker > types of
palletc1643
shot-locker1805
shot1834
stern-locker1850
chain-locker1883
chain chest1884
1850 G. Cupples Green Hand vii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 86/2 [The bird] was..stowed away..into the stern-locker.
stern-notch n. a notch cut in the topmost plank of a boat's stern to receive an oar used in sculling or steering.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > rowing apparatus > [noun] > rowlock > notch at stern
stern-notch1907
1907 ‘Q’ Poison Island xxv. 240 Slipping a paddle into the stern-notch, [I] sculled gently for shore.
stern-ornament n. (a) an ornament on a vessel's stern; (b) jocularly the tail of an animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail
taila800
starteOE
mugglec1275
rumpc1425
caude1572
stern1575
fud1710
flag1859
pole1864
stern-ornament1885
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > ornament
stern-ornament1885
1885 H. R. Haggard King 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.
1908 H. Paasch From Keel to Truck (ed. 4) 98 Stern ornament.
stern-piece n. †(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.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ship's guns collectively > gun in specific position
nosepiecea1614
stern-piece1622
chase-piece1626
rakera1640
chase-gun1667
bow-chase1769
chaser1804
stern-chaser1815
top gun1816
bow-chaser1836
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > flat part
stern-board1850
stern-piece1895
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea liii. 127 Our stearne peeces were vnprimed.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 19 Giue him your sterne peeces.
1895 Outing 26 382/1 Her [the yacht's] stern~piece is elliptical.
stern-port n. a port or window in the stern of a vessel.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > other parts of body of vessel > [noun] > opening in side of vessel > at bow or stern
stern-port1591
bow-port1829
1591 W. Raleigh Rep. Fight Iles of Açores sig. B2 Besides those of her Sterne portes.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. viii. 94 One of them ere midshipmites has thrown a red hot tater out of the stern-port.
1903 J. Conrad & F. M. Hueffer Romance ii. iv. 83 The stern-ports, glazed in small panes, were black and gleaming in a white framework.
stern-race n. a race in which one boat closely follows another without being able to overtake it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > boat racing or race > [noun] > type of race
stern-wager1852
stern-race1883
1883 J. Brinsley-Richards Seven Years at Eton xi. 106 Ricardo and Campbell were gamely rowing a good stern-race, but no more.
stern-rail n. (a) an ornamental moulding on a ship's stern; (b) the rail placed about the deck at the stern.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > rails or mouldings > at stern or quarter
fife-rail1721
tafferel1805
taffrail1814
necking1822
monkey-rail1840
stern-rail1846
pushpit1964
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > flat part > upper (ornamented) part of
tafferel1704
term-piece1711
term1781
taffrail1814
truss1823
stern-rail1846
tafferel-rail1846
1846 A. 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.
1914 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 248/2 The finest sight in all the East—Bombay seen over the stern-rail of a P. & O. steamer.
stern-rudder n. the rudder at the stern, as distinguished from the bow-rudder with which some craft are fitted.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > steering equipment > [noun] > rudder > specific at stern
stern-rudder1889
1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. xiii. 136 The following remarks..will be confined to stern rudders and the gear for actuating them.
stern sea n. a sea which beats upon a ship's stern; a following sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > direction of sea > [noun] > following
stern sea1745
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 156 A very great stern Sea, which staved the Long-boat against the Stern.
stern shot n. a shot at the buttocks of a fleeing animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > [noun] > shooting rights
deputation1749
shooting1848
shoot1861
stern shot1863
shoulder-shot1900
1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting v. 130 He [the rhinoceros] suddenly made right off, and I had only a stern shot left me.
stern speed n. the speed of a vessel travelling stern-foremost with engines reversed.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > speed in specific manner or conditions
surface speed1859
sea-speed1887
stern speed1904
hump speed1915
1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 6/2 For moderate speeds astern a reversing turbine was adequate, but for high stern speeds a reciprocating engine was preferable.
stern-timber n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun] > framework of > timber of
stern-timber1797
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 398/2 A curve described through the several points thus set off will be the representative of the stern timber.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 342 Stern-timbers, a general name given to all the timbers in the stern-frame.
stern-trawler n. a trawler whose nets are operated from the stern of the vessel.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > fishing vessel > [noun] > trawler
trawler-boat1599
trawl-boat1799
trawler1847
trawling sloop1860
trawling smack1887
mumble bee1891
sailing-trawler1891
trawl-smack1895
side trawler1956
stern-trawler1961
pair trawl1967
pair trawler1973
1961 Times 9 Aug. 5/2 A large stern~trawler..has been ordered by J. Marr and Son, of Hull.
1977 Grimsby Evening Tel. 5 May 8/3 A new French stern trawler landed over 1,700 kits of blue ling on Grimsby Fish Docks this week.
1982 Daily Tel. 29 July 2/4 The last modern stern trawler fleet in Britain was being forced into an increasingly nomadic existence.
stern tube n. (a) the tube in which the propeller-shaft works; (b) a tube fitted in the stern of a warship from which torpedoes are discharged.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ship's guns collectively > torpedo-tube
impulse tube1877
stern tube1883
torpedo gun1885
torpedo-tube1893
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > propulsion machinery > [noun] > propeller > propeller shaft bearings > tube in which shaft works
stern tube1883
1883 W. C. Russell Sailors' Lang. Stern-tube, a cylinder in the after peak of a steamer in which the propeller shaft works.
1912 Times 19 Dec. 20/2 Portuguese s. Beira..with propeller shaft port engine broken and stern tube cracked or broken.
1914 C. W. Domville-Fife Submarines, Mines & Torpedoes 144 The submarine might..then fire her stern tubes at close range.
stern-wager n. = stern-race n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > boat racing or race > [noun] > type of race
stern-wager1852
stern-race1883
1852 J. F. Bateman Aquatic Notes 74 The Cambridge men..rowed a very plucky stern-wager.
stern-walk n. (see quot. 1867).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > balcony or gallery at stern or quarter
gallery1627
balcony1666
quarter-gallery1740
stern-gallery1842
stern-walk1867
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Stern-walk, the old galleries formerly used to line-of-battle ships.
1893 Daily News 18 July 6/1 Looking out of a stern port into the stern walk.
1915 ‘Bartimeus’ Naval Occasions (new ed.) 161 While under the stern-walk a flock of gulls screeched and quarrelled.
stern-way n. the movement of a ship going stern-foremost; also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > progress through water > ahead or astern
headway1730
stern-way1769
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Aback The sails..are laid aback..to give the ship stern-way.
1865 Daily Tel. 16 Oct. 4/4 The steers~men of the public schools perceived that they were making stern-way; the age was overhauling them.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 179 Before going alongside a vessel.., observe if she have head or sternway.
sternways adv. in a position or direction facing to the stern.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [adverb] > towards the stern
aftwardc1514
afterwarda1618
aftwards1627
aft1669
sternward1832
sternways1872
1872 Earl of Pembroke & G. H. Kingsley South Sea Bubbles i. 8 Some [fish]..swimming or floating frontways, sternways, sideways, with apparently equal ease and partiality.
stern-works n. jocularly the buttocks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun]
flitcha700
arse-endseOE
culec1220
buttockc1300
tail1303
toutec1305
nagea1325
fundamentc1325
tail-end1377
brawna1382
buma1387
bewschers?a1400
crouponc1400
rumplec1430
lendc1440
nachec1440
luddocka1475
rearwarda1475
croupc1475
rumpc1475
dock1508
hurdies1535
bunc1538
sitting place1545
bottom?c1550
prat1567
nates1581
backside1593
crupper1594
posteriorums1596
catastrophe1600
podex1601
posterior1605
seat1607
poop1611
stern1631
cheek1639
breeka1642
doup1653
bumkin1658
bumfiddle1661
assa1672
butt1675
quarter1678
foundation1681
toby1681
bung1691
rear1716
fud1722
moon1756
derrière1774
rass1790
stern-post1810
sit-down1812
hinderland1817
hinderling1817
nancy1819
ultimatum1823
behinda1830
duff?1837
botty1842
rear end1851
latter end1852
hinder?1857
sit1862
sit-me-down1866
stern-works1879
tuchus1886
jacksy-pardy1891
sit-upon1910
can1913
truck-end1913
sitzfleisch1916
B.T.M.1919
fanny1919
bot1922
heinie1922
beam1929
yas yas1929
keister1931
batty1935
bim1935
arse-end1937
twat1937
okole1938
bahookie1939
bohunkus1941
quoit1941
patoot1942
rusty-dusty1942
dinger1943
jacksie1943
zatch1950
ding1957
booty1959
patootie1959
buns1960
wazoo1961
tush1962
1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey (1886) 17 Plucking a switch out of a thicket, he began to lace Modestine about the stern~works.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
Sternn.4
/stəːn/, U.S. /stərn/ Stern gang n. (also Stern group) a militant Zionist organization (officially Loḥame ḥerut Yisra'el Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) founded by Avraham Stern in 1940.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warriors collectively > paramilitary groups spec. > [noun]
U.V.F.1913
squadra1922
Sturmabteilung1923
steel helmet1925
Schutzbund1927
new guard1932
Silver Shirts1934
Stern gang1944
Umkhonto we Sizwe1961
nahal1963
MK1964
Provisional I.R.A.1970
Black September1971
Red Brigade1971
Black Septembrist1972
U.D.A.1972
Symbionese Liberation Army1973
U.F.F.1973
Amal1976
death squad1976
INLA1979
1944 Nation 2 Dec. 685/1 The so-called Stern gang, with 150 active members.
1947 Ann. Reg. 1946 299 The Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Group had worked with the Hagana High Command in certain of these operations.
1959 I. Jefferies Thirteen Days iv. 51 One of the two terrorist groups was called the Stern Gang.
1963 D. Leitch in M. Sissons & P. French Age of Austerity iii. 64 The Stern Gang was responsible for the murder of Lord Moyne, Minister resident in Cairo, in November 1944.
1978 L. Heren Growing up on The Times iii. 86 The Stern Gang was a savage organisation which even Koestler could not defend despite his theory that ruthlessness was essential for human progress.
Derivatives
ˈSternist adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > member of specific paramilitary group > [noun]
Sanfedist1842
squadrist1938
Sternist1944
werewolf1945
provisional1970
Provo1971
Razakar1971
Schutzbündler1974
paramilitary1975
Koevoet1983
society > armed hostility > warrior > member of specific paramilitary group > [adjective]
Sternist1944
1944 Nation 2 Dec. 685/2 Nathan Friedman-Yellin, the thirty-one-year-old Sternist chief.
1944 Nation 2 Dec. 686/1 The Sternists' chief weapon is murder.
1949 A. Koestler Promise & Fulfilm. i. viii. 92 The Sternists were believers in unrestricted and indiscriminate terror.
1949 A. Koestler Promise & Fulfilm. ii. v. 279 Then a Sternist girl came in who once made international news.
1978 L. Heren Growing up on The Times iii. 83 Goldschmidt..assumed that the Sternist philosophy, which was never made clear to me, would prevail.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sternadj.n.2adv.
A. adj.† 2. † 3. In a bad sense: Merciless, cruel. Obsolete.
1. absolute.1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 46 The spell Which must bend the Invincible, The stern of thought.1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cviii. 169 The stern were mild when thou wert by. View more context for this quotation
a. Of persons and things personified, their dispositions and temper: Severe, strict, inflexible; rigorous in punishment or condemnation; not inclined to leniency.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > severe or stern
wrothc893
retheeOE
stithc897
starkOE
sternOE
hardOE
dangerous?c1225
sharpa1340
asperc1374
austerec1384
shrewda1387
snella1400
sternful?a1400
unsterna1400
dour?a1425
piquant1521
tetrical1528
tetric1533
sorea1535
rugged?1548
severe1548
hard-handed1611
Catonian1676
tetricous1727
heavy1849
acerbic1853
stiff1856
Catonic1883
tough1905
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
retheeOE
stithc897
hardeOE
starkOE
sternOE
dangerous?c1225
sharp?c1225
unsoftc1275
sturdy1297
asperc1374
austerec1384
shrewda1387
snella1400
sternful?a1400
dour?a1425
thrallc1430
piquant1521
tetrical1528
tetric1533
sorea1535
rugged?1548
severe1548
iron1574
harsh1579
strict1600
angry1650
Catonian1676
Draconic1708
tetricous1727
alkaline1789
acerbic1853
stiff1856
acerbate1869
acerbitous1870
Draconian1876
Catonic1883
OE Genesis 60 Hæfde styrne mod, gegremod grymme.
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1070 He wæs swiðe styrne man.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 270 As moder þet is reouful deð hire bitwenen hire child & þe sturne fader hwen he hit wule beaten.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 197 Richtwisnesse he saið mod beon nede sturne.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 130 Þou sselt uinde þane domes man zuo sterne and zuo stout and zuo strayt an zuo miȝtuol.
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 170 Then shal the stierne and wrothe Iuge sitte aboue.
c1475 Partenay 5730 Both stourne men & meke.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. i. 25 My (sometime) Generall, I haue seene the Sterne . View more context for this quotation
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xiv. 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.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 255 As stern Elijah said of old.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands II. 341 A characteristic likeness of the stern, ambitious, military old bishop.
b. Const. with, to, towards. (Old English dative.)
ΚΠ
a1023 Wulfstan Homilies 267/1 And ægðer he sceal beon mid rihte ge milde ge reðe, milde þam godum and styrne þam yfelum.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3283 Wið þa goden he wes duhti. and sturne [c1300 Otho sterne] wið þa dusie.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1612 Hire fader hire wes sturne [c1300 Otho sterne].
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4951 King cadwal to him to sturne verst nas.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Ciiv Achilles was to Priam not so stern.
1847 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Peru I. iii. v. 426 He was..towards his own people stern even to severity.
1900 New Cent. Rev. 7 401 They have to be stern with applicants who have grown up under a lax system.
c. Rigorous in morals or principles; uncompromising, austere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > asceticism > [adjective]
sternc1374
austerea1425
tetrical1528
tetric1533
severe1565
ascetic1646
tetricous1727
ascetical1836
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adjective] > conforming > strictly
sternc1374
precise1526
severe1565
precisianc1610
strictc1660
rigorist1844
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) ii. met. vii. 60 What is now brutus or stiern Caton [L. rigidus Cato]?
1703 N. Rowe Ulysses iv. i. 1438 Honour stern, impatient of Neglect.
1743 R. Blair Grave 29 The supple Statesman, and the Patriot stern.
a1835 J. Hogg Tales & Sketches (1837) VI. 12 Lord Nithsdale, who was a stern Catholic.
1837 W. Wordsworth Cuckoo at Laverna 34 A few Monks, a stern society, Dead to the world and scorning earth-born joys.
1911 Contemp. Rev. May 577 He was a stern moralist.
d. Of personal attributes, actions, utterances, feelings, etc.: Severe, strict, hard, grim, harsh.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > severe or stern > of actions or utterances
sharp?c1225
stern?c1225
sore1526
hardish1676
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] > specifically of actions or utterances
stern?c1225
sore1526
severe1561
savage1821
acidic1936
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 315 For swich ach wummone lare to beon. luuelich & liðe. selthwenne sturne.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 434 Not for his lordship ne his sterne power.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther ii. 60 But when the stern conditions were declar'd, A mournfull whisper through the host was heard.
1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Prometheus Chain'd in tr. Æschylus Tragedies 14 Is there a god, whose sullen soul Feels a stern joy in thy despair?
1815 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 227 But thou, though capable of sternest deed, Wert kind as resolute.
1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. ii. 147 Even his enemies lamented the stern policy that dictated his execution.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. viii. 90 Desertion, or the attempt to desert, shall be met at once by the sternest penalty.
1892 F. P. Verney et al. Mem. Verney Family Civil War I. 343 The stern solemnity of the speakers.
a. Resolute in battle, steadfast, fiercely brave, bold. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > valour > heroic resistance > [adjective]
sternc1275
stern on steedc1300
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15710 Ah Oswi wes cniht sturne [c1300 Otho steorne].
a1300 K. Horn (Cambr.) 877 Þe paens þat er were so sturne, Hi gunne awei vrne.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3409 A ful breme bataile bi-gan þat ilk time, whan eþer sides a-sembled of þo segges sturne.
?a1400 Morte Arth. 157 Take kepe to thoos lordez, To styghtylle tha steryne mene as theire statte askys.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 652 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 115 Thar was..Stanchalis steropis strecht to yai stern lordis.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3960 Polidamas..A full strong man in stoure, sturnyst in Armys.
b. Of battle, debate and the like: Stubbornly-contested, fierce, hard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > of action: involving or requiring vigour > carried out or proceeding with vigour
stiffc1250
busyc1275
greatc1275
sternc1275
smart?a1400
stark1489
thronga1525
vigorous1524
stout1582
intensive1605
spiritful?1611
warm1627
intense1645
mettlesome1645
spirited1670
mettled1682
sturdy1697
energetic1700
vivid1702
robustful1800
toughish1840
lively1844
full out1920
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10365 Þer gode cnihtes cumeð to sturne fihte [c1300 Otho strange fihtes].
1422 J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 174 Steryn battaill he yaue.
c1535 Ploughman's Tale i. sig. A.ii A sterne stryfe is stered newe.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Feb. 149 Stirring vp sterne strife.
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois ii. 14 His friends and enemies; whose sterne fight I saw.
1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Prometheus Chain'd in tr. Æschylus Tragedies 16 When stern debate amongst the gods appear'd And discord in the courts of heav'n was rous'd.
1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 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.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > valour > heroic resistance > [adjective]
sternc1275
stern on steedc1300
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > exalted in rank
higheOE
stern of slatec1300
greatc1325
differentc1384
excellentc1400
haught1470
upper1477
elevate?1504
of sort1606
sublime1606
eminenta1616
exalted1623
elevated1665
uppish1797
ranking1847
high-up1848
high-ranking1850
superimposed1861
salt1868
top-ranking1936
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > for riding > swift steed
blonkOE
steedc1175
a stern steedc1300
prancer?1566
Pacoleta1586
c1300 Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 883 Þe housbond was stern and stout.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 429 Non is sternere of stat ne stouter þan oþir.
a1400 Sir Beues 4500 He armede him in yrene wede And lep vpon a sterne stede.
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3872 He was the sterynneste in stoure that euer stele werryde.
c1400 Aunturs of Arth. 391 (Thornton) In stele was he stuffede, þat steryne was one stede.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1296 Armed ful wel, with hertes stierne and stoute.
c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 178 He hade drede and doute Of him þat was stirrun and stowte.
1568 W. Dunbar in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 297 He went agane to bene bespewit So stern [?a1513 strenyt] he wes in steill.
1576 G. Gascoigne Complaynt of Phylomene in Steele Glas sig. N.iiiiv Or if (quoth she) there bee Some other meane more sure, More stearne, more stoute, than naked sword.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > compassion > pitilessness > [adjective] > merciless
orelesseOE
sternc1275
fell?c1335
unmerciablea1382
wantona1393
mercilessc1400
unmercifula1425
gracelessc1425
unmercifula1450
unmerciless1545
unsparinga1586
spareless1589
unhuman1611
inclement1621
unmercied1627
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12896 He wende to finden þene feond sturne [c1300 Otho stronge].
c1290 St. Kenelm 202 in S. Eng. Leg. 351 And bi-cam stuyrne and bi-ladde hire men harde with muche wrech-hede.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 94 O sterne and cruwel fader þat I was.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 71 For drede of lyouns þat were cruel and sterne.
c1400 Brut xxx. 29 Artogaile..bicome so wickede and so sterne, þat þe Britons wolde nouȝt suffre hym to bene kyng.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. iii. 35 Thei ware sterne, and vnruly, and bruteshely liued.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 213 Thy mother tooke vnto her blamefull bed, Some sterne vntutred churle.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. ii. 59 Pearst through the heart, with your sterne cruelty.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xcvi. sig. G How many Lambs might the sterne Wolfe betray. View more context for this quotation
4. † b. Terrible or threatening in aspect. Obsolete.
a. Of looks, bearing, gait: Indicating a stern disposition or mood; expressing grave displeasure; resolute, austere, gloomy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > [adjective] > expressing disapproval by looks
frowningc1386
stern1390
squiggle-eyed1960
the mind > emotion > courage > valour > warlike valour > [adjective]
proudc1275
steepc1275
wightc1275
sturdy1297
stoutc1325
valiantc1330
stern1390
martialc1425
pertc1450
stalwartc1480
talla1529
handsome1665
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > severe or stern > of expression or manner
sturdy1297
grim1340
stern1390
malicious1485
severe1565
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] > specifically of looks or demeanour
grim1340
stern1390
severe1565
hard-faced1567
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 289 The king declareth him the cas With sturne lok and sturdi chiere.
1400–20 J. Lydgate Story of Thebes 2118 And in despit who that was lief or loth, A sterne pas thorgh the halle he goth.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. bvv On twa stedis thai straid with ane sterne schiere.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vii. 127 His countenaunce stout, his sterne martch, when they saw in such sort,..they doe beginne to ioye.
1591 T. Lodge Catharos f. 1v The still streame is deepest, & the stearne looke doublest.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. iii. 10 As I guesse By the sterne brow, and waspish action..It beares an angry tenure. View more context for this quotation
1637 J. Milton Comus 16 Gods and men Fear'd her sterne frowne.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 197 A man severe he was, and stern to view.
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 20 With the stern step of vanquished will.
1881 M. E. Herbert Edith i. 18 Graver and sterner grew Mr. Gordon's face.
1890 A. Conan Doyle White Company vi The soldier stood in front of them with stern eyes, checking off their several packages.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of terribleness > [adjective]
eislichc888
eyesfulOE
awfulc1175
smarta1200
ferlya1225
sternc1275
grisea1300
uglya1300
dreadfula1325
fell?c1335
stout1338
perilousc1380
terriblec1400
ghastfulc1449
timorous1455
epouventable1477
bedreadc1485
dreadablec1490
dreadc1540
buggisha1555
dreaded1556
monster-like1561
dire1567
scareful1567
terrifying1577
scary1582
direful1583
affrighting1592
dismal1594
affrightful1603
diral1606
tirable1607
frighting1619
scaring1641
affrighteninga1651
formidolous1656
terrific1667
terrifical1677
atrocious1733
terrorful1789
orful1845
lurid1850
terrorsome1890
turble1893
timorsome1894
like the wrath of God1936
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8918 Com of þan steore a leome swiðe sturne.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 474/2 Sterne, or dredeful in syghte, terribilis, horribilis.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iii. 43 He come to hem like a begger,..and hadde a grym berde and steirne loke.
1574 J. Baret Aluearie S 758 Sterne: cruell & sturdie in lookes: grimme terrible, fell, toruus.
c. transferred. Of a building: Severe in style; gloomy or forbidding in aspect. Cf. A. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > [adjective] > severe or harsh in aspect
harsh1774
stern1823
1823 W. Scott Peveril IV. i. 18 Julian, who was led along the same stern passages which he had traversed upon his entrance, to the gate of the prison.
1833 W. Wordsworth Lowther 3 Lowther! in thy majestic Pile are seen Cathedral pomp and grace, in apt accord With the baronial castle's sterner mien.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (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. A. 6c.)
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > severe or stern > of the voice
sternc1330
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] > specifically of voice
sternc1330
c1330 Spec. Gy de Warw. 446 Wid sterne voiz and wid heie.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 611 His steuen stiffe was [and] steryn þat stonayd many.
1817 W. Scott Harold ii. vii. 51 Stern accents made his pleasure known, Though then he used his gentlest tone.
1830 W. Scott Monastery (new ed.) II. ii. 26 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. Obsolete.† c. Of sound: Harsh, menacing (cf. A. 5). Obsolete.† d. Of the weather: Severe, causing hardship.† e. Of a stream, a wind: Strong, violent. Obsolete.† f. Formidable in bulk, massive. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [adjective] > quality of, generally
starkOE
stiffc1250
sterna1400
vengeablec1400
unwieldya1547
vengefula1586
mistempered1597
maiden1598
lathen1843
humane1970
c1025 in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses 56/112 Asperis (uerberibus seu liuidis), styr[num] vel tear[tum].
a1175 Cott. Hom. 231 Mid gode repples and stiarne swepen.
a1175 Cott. Hom. 239 Þe wereȝede gastes þe hine uniredlice underfangeð mid stiarne swupen.
a1400 Leg. Rood 184 Þe hamur bothe sterne and gret þe drof þe nayles þorow hond and fete.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xiv. 375 About whom Mischiefe stood And with his stern steele, drew in streames the blood.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel iii. vi. 68 Stern was the dint The Borderer lent!
b. Of grief or pain: Oppressive, hard to bear.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > [adjective] > severe
heavya1000
tartc1000
unridec1175
unsoftc1275
uglya1300
smartc1300
sternc1300
cruelc1384
sharpc1386
shrewda1387
snella1400
painousa1450
painlyc1460
sensible1502
terrible1509
heinous?1541
severe1747
c1300 Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 174 Hir sorwe was strong and sterne.
1811 P. B. Shelley Bereav. 1 How stern are the woes of the desolate mourner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [adjective]
hardOE
rudea1375
stern1390
rougha1400
discordanta1425
stoutc1440
hoarse1513
harsh1530
raughtish1567
rugged1567
dissonant1573
harshy1582
jarry1582
immelodious1601
cragged1605
raggeda1616
unmusicala1616
absonousa1620
unharmoniousa1634
inharmonical1683
unharmonic1694
inharmonious1715
craggy1774
pebbly1793
reedy1795
iron1807
dry1819
inharmonic1828
asperated1835
sawing1851
shrewd1876
coarse1879
callithumpian1886
dissonantal1946
ear-bending1946
sandpaper1953
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 113 A trompe with a sterne breth, Which cleped was the Trompe of death.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1402 Sturnen [? read sturne] trumpen strake steuen in halle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [adjective] > severe or violent (of weather or elements)
retheeOE
strongOE
stithc1100
snella1400
woodc1400
outrage?a1425
violentc1425
sternc1449
strainable1497
rigorous1513
stalwart1528
vehement1528
sore1535
sturdy1569
robustious1632
severe1676
beating1702
shaving1789
snorting1819
wroth1852
wrathy1872
snapping1876
vicious1882
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 146 To couere him fro reyne and fro othir sturne wedris.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxiv. 332 In this so sterne a Time Of night, and danger.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) iii. vii. 61 If Wolues had at thy Gate howl'd that stern time, Thou should'st haue said, good Porter turne the Key.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > action of river > [adjective] > flowing rapidly or violently
stiff?a1366
sternc1374
throc1380
despitousa1450
stith1487
pouring1577
stickle1587
testy1610
sharp1655
unruly1697
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > strong
strongeOE
stiffc1290
sternc1374
wrothc1400
vehement1483
strainable1497
freshc1515
stout1533
bloysterous?1570
ruffing1577
boisterous?1594
lofty1600
chafing1762
blustery1774
smacking1820
snoring1822
spanking1849
gale force1902
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 743 The sterne wynd so lowde gan to route That no wight oþer noyse myghte here.
a1400 Guy Warw. 5840 He com to a water sterne.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 55 Lyk a Ryuer sterne, and of gret myght, He restyth nat nouther day nor nyght.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of large volume or bulky > and solid
greateOE
stour?a1300
fata1325
mightyc1375
sternc1394
stiffc1400
massivec1425
mastiff1495
gross1516
massy1548
robustious1548
mountainousa1616
monumental1632
mountain1633
lusty1640
beamy1697
material1736
Himalayan1878
wodgy1907
monolith1922
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 214 And all strong ston wall sterne opon heiþe.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 143 For of bak & of brest al were his bodi sturne, Both his wombe & his wast were worthily smale.
7. Of a country, or its physical features, the soil, etc. (with figurative notion of senses A. 1, A. 4): Unkindly, inhospitable; destitute of amenity; forbidding in aspect, frowning, gloomy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] > gloomy or depressing
darkOE
unmerryOE
deathlyc1225
dolefulc1275
elengec1275
dreicha1300
coolc1350
cloudyc1374
sada1375
colda1400
deadlya1400
joylessc1400
unjoyful?c1400
disconsolatea1413
mournfula1425
funeralc1425
uncheerfulc1449
dolent1489
dolesome1533
heavy-hearted1555
glum1558
ungladsome1558
black1562
pleasureless1567
dern1570
plaintive?1570
glummish1573
cheerless1575
comfortless1576
wintry1579
glummy1580
funebral1581
discouraging1584
dernful?1591
murk1596
recomfortless1596
sullen1597
amating1600
lugubrious1601
dusky1602
sable1603
funebrial1604
damping1607
mortifying1611
tearful?1611
uncouth1611
dulsome1613
luctual1613
dismal1617
winterous1617
unked1620
mopish1621
godforsaken?1623
uncheerly1627
funebrious1630
lugubrous1632
drearisome1633
unheartsome1637
feral1641
drear1645
darksome1649
sadding1649
saddening1650
disheartening1654
funebrous1654
luctiferous1656
mestifical1656
tristifical1656
sooty1657
dreary1667
tenebrose1677
clouded1682
tragicala1700
funereal1707
gloomy1710
sepulchrala1711
dumpishc1717
bleaka1719
depressive1727
lugubre1727
muzzy1728
dispiriting1733
uncheery1760
unconsolatory1760
unjolly1764
Decemberly1765
sombre1768
uncouthie1768
depressing1772
unmirthful1782
sombrous1789
disanimating1791
Decemberish1793
grey1794
uncheering1796
ungenial1796
uncomforting1798
disencouraginga1806
stern1812
chilling1815
uncheered1817
dejecting1818
mopey1821
desponding1828
wisht1829
leadening1835
unsportful1837
demoralizing1840
Novemberish1840
frigid1844
morne1844
tragic1848
wet-blanketty1848
morgue1850
ungladdeneda1851
adusk1856
smileless1858
soul-sick1858
Novemberya1864
saturnine1863
down1873
lacklustre1883
Heaven-abandoneda1907
downbeat1952
doomy1967
the world > the earth > land > landscape > [adjective] > scenic > wild
savagec1330
unbenec1400
rudec1405
scragged1519
austere?1580
stark1799
stern1812
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xli. 81 Stern Albania's hills.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion ii. 55 Mountains stern and desolate. View more context for this quotation
1836 W. Irving Astoria I. vii. 116 The Tonquin ploughed her course towards the sterner regions of the Pacific.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey I. 196 The wild stern regions of European Turkey.
1884 Princess Alice Mem. 5 The sterner scenery of the Scotch Highlands.
a1894 R. L. Stevenson In South Seas (1896) ii. ii. 166 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
grimc900
strongeOE
hardeOE
drearyOE
eileOE
sweerOE
deara1000
bitterOE
tartc1000
smartOE
unridec1175
sharp?c1225
straitc1275
grievousc1290
fellc1330
shrewda1387
snella1400
unsterna1400
vilea1400
importunea1425
ungainc1425
thrallc1430
peisant1483
sore?a1513
weighty1540
heinous?1541
urgent?1542
asperous?1567
dure1567
spiny1586
searching1590
hoara1600
vengible1601
flinty1613
tugging1642
atrocious1733
uncannya1774
severe1774
stern1830
punishing1833
hefty1867
solid1916
1830 T. Carlyle Richter Again in Misc. Ess. (1840) II. 309 Poverty of a sterner sort than this would have been a light matter to him.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 193 The great enterprise to which a stern necessity afterwards drove him.
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 92 It is useless to deny the stern fact, that [etc.].
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 174 The times were too stern to admit of nice distinctions.
1912 Standard 20 Sept. 7/3 This is no flight of imagination; it is stern reality.
In alliterative verse: A stern or bold man. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness > severe or stern person
sternc1400
grimsirc1450
roundhead1643
the mind > emotion > courage > heroism > [noun] > hero > person of mettle
heart1340
heart of oakc1384
bolda1400
doughtya1400
stalworthc1400
sternc1400
Ironsidea1470
stalwart1508
galliard1532
lada1556
stoutheart1556
hardydardy1593
valour1609
valiant1610
fireman1648
hearty1790
my (also me) hearty1839
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 214 Þe stele of a stif staf—þe sturne hit bi-grypte.
c1400 Aunturs of Arth. (Douce) 532 Þe sturne strikes one stray.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii Mony sterne our the streit stertis on stray.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 567 Ye may strive with no stuerne but of your strength nobill.
C. adv.in combination.1727 W. Broome Poems 223 The dreadful Brotherhood stern-frowning stands.1912 Contemp. Rev. Nov. 688 His stern-set, deep-lined mouth.
Also quasi-adv. Sternly, resolutely, severely, harshly.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adverb] > severely or sternly
sternlyc897
stitha1000
sterna1175
foulc1275
stithlya1300
steevely1340
austerely?a1400
smartlya1400
unsternlya1400
sore1484
shrewdly1490
dourlya1500
severely1548
roundly1567
severe1599
fiercely1611
piquantly1691
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adverb]
sternlyc897
sharplyc900
stitha1000
hardlyOE
starklyOE
sterna1175
stithlya1300
hardilyc1300
ruggedlya1382
austerely?a1400
smartlya1400
unsternlya1400
acerbly?a1425
brussly1481
sore1484
shrewdly1490
dourlya1500
severely1548
roundly1567
severe1599
strictly1602
fiercely1611
Draconically1641
rugged1661
a1175 Cott. Hom. 231 Ȝief he fend were, me sceolden anon eter [= et þer] gat ȝemete..and stiarne hine besie.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 15514 He þratte stirne wind o sæ & itt warrþ stille & liþe.
c1250 Owl & Night. 112 Þe faukun..lude yal and sturne chidde.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 248 Noyther he..Lakketh, ne loseth ne loketh vp sterne.
c1450 Mirk's Festial 300 God lokud so sterne on hym.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades 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.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 23 in Justa Edouardo King He shook his miter'd locks, and stern bespake.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic formations, as stern-browed, stern-eyed, stern-faced, stern-featured, stern-gated, stern-lipped, stern-visaged adjs.
ΚΠ
1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 23 And we will turne sterne-visag'd Furie backe.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xvii. xlvi. 261 The bold impetuousness Of stern-fac'd Mamalukes.
1776 W. J. Mickle tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad iii. (1778) 99 The stern-brow'd tyrant roars and tears the ground.
1787 R. Polwhele Eng. Orator ii. 4 A Warrior-Brood Stern-featur'd.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad II. xx. 50 Vulcan..Strong and stern-eyed.
a1900 S. Crane Great Battles (1901) 206 That curious stern-lipped stupidity.
C2. As complement, as stern-born, stern-issuing, stern-looking, stern-sounding adjs.
ΚΠ
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iv. i. 167 Braue Romaine Soldiers, sterne-borne sons of Mars.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey II. viii. 563 He sung the Greeks stern-issuing from the steed.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 151 Six evangelical, stern-looking men.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. vi. iii. 379 They roll through the streets, with stern-sounding music.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
sternv.1
/stəːn/, U.S. /stərn/ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > steering > steer [verb (intransitive)]
steerc897
stretchc1275
steer1340
stern14..
to steer a, one's course1602
helm1607
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > steering > steer [verb (transitive)]
steera1122
stretchc1275
lead1377
stern1577
helm1607
rudder1856
steer1873
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > steer ship of state [verb (transitive)]
stern1615
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > steer ship of state [verb (intransitive)]
stern1648
14.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 605/27 Proreto, to sterne or to stere out.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande iii. f. 14/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I A castle..which is a notable marck for Pilottes, in directing them which way to sterne their ships.
1615 I. Bargrave Serm. E 2 There was need of a skilfull pilot to rule and sterne the ship of State.
1648 Royalist'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. transitive. To propel a boat stern foremost; also intransitive to go stern foremost.In this sense developed from the whaling term stern all, the order to back off after a harpoon has been entered, where stern originally = astern adv. and prep.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (intransitive)] > head in a certain course or direction > go astern
to fall astern1599
to back water1808
to make a stern-board1815
stern1845
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (transitive)] > set a ship's course > propel stern first
stern1892
1823 J. F. Cooper Pilot xvii ‘Starn all!’ ‘Stern all!’ echoed Barnstable.
1823 J. F. Cooper Pilot xvii ‘Starn off, sir, starn off! the creater's in his flurry.’]
1845 J. Coulter Adventures Pacific vii. 86 In I darted both irons with all my force—‘stern all—and stern they did quickly enough.
1892 F. M. Crawford Children of King (1893) I. 70 The dingy came rapidly back and the sailor sterned her to the rock for the boys to get in.
1904 F. 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. 1711).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor [verb (intransitive)] > anchor > anchor in specific manner
stern the buoy1711
to stream the buoy1769
1711 Mil. & Sea Dict. (ed. 4) at 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > cut off tail, ears, or other bits
dockc1386
bobtail1577
dishorn1603
crop1607
strunt1828
de-tail1837
stern1858
decaudate1864
tail1886
dehorn1888
declaw1901
poll1907
defang1912
1858 E. J. Lewis in W. Youatt Dog (N.Y. ed.) v. 170 The often absurd fancy of cropping and sterning dogs.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > guidance
wissingc1000
rightingOE
guidance?1548
guide1568
guidementa1578
aim1597
chalking1613
sterning1638
light or leading1644
pilotry1842
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. III. 230 I leave you liberty..to saile with the winde. Nothing but good successe can be expected from your sterning.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > director
mastereOE
steerc897
ordainerc1443
director1477
rector1482
sayer1483
orderer1496
solicitera1530
temperator1591
ordinator1615
sternera1634
dirigent1756
chargé d'affaires1797
quarterback1931
a1634 R. Clerke Serm. (1637) ii. 15 He that is Regens Sidera,..the Sterner of the Starres.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† sternv.2
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To cast down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > bring to the ground/lay low > cast down
warpc1175
acastc1225
to throw downa1250
foldc1275
casta1300
throwc1330
waltc1400
shootc1480
to cast down1530
to fling down1587
stern1599
deject1627
1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. C2 All things beneth the voult of heuin ar sterned vnder feit.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
sternv.3
rare.
transitive. To make stern.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > make more strict or severe [verb (transitive)] > make stern
stern1722
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > be harsh or severe upon [verb (transitive)] > make harsh or severe
starken1536
stern1722
1722 W. Hamilton Life of Sir William Wallace 77 Wallace stern'd his Brow and cry'd My Life alone shall the long Strife decide.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
<
n.1c800
n.3c1300
n.41944adj.n.2adv.OEv.114..v.21599
v.31722