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stern - 16 dictionary results

stern

1 [sturn]

Use stern in a Sentence

–adjective, -er, -est.

1.	firm, strict, or uncompromising: stern discipline.

2.	hard, harsh, or severe: a stern reprimand.

3.	rigorous or austere; of an unpleasantly serious character: stern times.

4.	grim or forbidding in aspect: a stern face.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE styrne

Related forms:

sternly, adverb

sternness, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. adamant, unrelenting, unsympathetic, cruel, unfeeling. Stern, severe, harsh agree in referring to methods, aspects, manners, or facial expressions. Stern implies uncompromising, inflexible firmness, and sometimes a hard, forbidding, or withdrawn aspect or nature: a stern parent. Severe implies strictness, lack of sympathy, and a tendency to impose a hard discipline on others: a severe judge. Harsh suggests a great severity and roughness, and cruel, unfeeling treatment of others: a harsh critic.

Antonyms:
1. lenient.

stern

2 [sturn]

–noun

1.	the after part of a vessel (often opposed to stem).

2.	the back or rear of anything.

3.	(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Puppis.

4.	Fox Hunting. the tail of a hound.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME sterne, prob. < ON stjōrn steering (done aft; see sternpost )

Stern

[sturn]

–noun

1.	Isaac, 1920–2001, U.S. violinist, born in Russia.

2.	Otto, 1888–1969, U.S. physicist, born in Germany: Nobel prize 1943.

stern-

var. of sterno- before a vowel: sternite.

sterno-

a combining form representing sternum in compound words: sternocostal.

Also, especially before a vowel, stern-.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To stern

stern¹ (stûrn)

adj. stern·er, stern·est

Hard, harsh, or severe in manner or character: a stern disciplinarian. See Synonyms at severe.
Grim, gloomy, or forbidding in appearance or outlook.
Firm or unyielding; uncompromising.
Inexorable; relentless: stern necessity.

[Middle English sterne, from Old English styrne; see ster-¹ in Indo-European roots.]
stern'ly adv., stern'ness n.

stern² (stûrn)

Nautical The rear part of a ship or boat.
A rear part or section.

[Middle English sterne, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse stjōrn, rudder; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

Stern (stûrn)

Russian-born American violinist who is considered among the great 20th-century virtuosos.

Stern, Otto 1888-1969.
German-born American physicist. He won a 1943 Nobel Prize for detecting the magnetic movements of atomic particles.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Stern

Stern\, n. [AS. stearn a kind of bird. See Starling.] (Zo["o]l.) The black tern.

Stern

Stern\, a. [Compar. Sterner; superl. Sternest.] [OE. sterne, sturne, AS. styrne; cf. D. stuurish stern, Sw. stursk refractory. [root]166.] Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed; unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as, a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern gaze; a stern decree.

The sterne wind so loud gan to rout. --Chaucer.

I would outstare the sternest eyes that look. --Shak.

When that the poor have cried, C[ae]sar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. --Shak.

Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard. --Dryden.

These barren rocks, your stern inheritance. --Wordsworth.

Syn: Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind; hard-hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.

Stern

Stern\, n. [Icel. stj[=o]rn a steering, or a doubtful AS. ste['o]rn. [root]166. See Steer, v. t.]

1. The helm or tiller of a vessel or boat; also, the rudder. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. (Naut.) The after or rear end of a ship or other vessel, or of a boat; the part opposite to the stem, or prow.

3. Fig.: The post of management or direction.

And sit chiefest stern of public weal. --Shak.

4. The hinder part of anything. --Spenser.

5. The tail of an animal; -- now used only of the tail of a dog.

By the stern. (Naut.) See By the head, under By.

Stern

Stern\, a. Being in the stern, or being astern; as, the stern davits.

Stern board (Naut.), a going or falling astern; a loss of way in making a tack; as, to make a stern board. See Board, n., 8 (b) .

Stern chase. (Naut.) (a) See under Chase, n. (b) A stern chaser.

Stern chaser (Naut.), a cannon placed in a ship's stern, pointing backward, and intended to annoy a ship that is in pursuit.

Stern fast (Naut.), a rope used to confine the stern of a ship or other vessel, as to a wharf or buoy.

Stern frame (Naut.), the framework of timber forms the stern of a ship.

Stern knee. See Sternson.

Stern port (Naut.), a port, or opening, in the stern of a ship.

Stern sheets (Naut.), that part of an open boat which is between the stern and the aftmost seat of the rowers, -- usually furnished with seats for passengers.

Stern wheel, a paddle wheel attached to the stern of the steamboat which it propels.

Language Translation for : stern

Italian: severo,

German: streng,

Japanese: 厳しい

More Translations »

stern (adj.)

O.E. styrne "severe, strict," from P.Gmc. *sternijaz (cf. M.H.G. sterre, Ger. starr "stiff," störrig "obstinate;" Goth. andstaurran "to be stiff;" O.N. stara; O.E. starian "to look or gaze upon"), from PIE base *ster-, *star- "be rigid" (see sterile).

stern (n.)

c.1300, "hind part of a ship, steering gear of a ship," probably from O.N. stjorn "a steering," related to styra "to guide" (see steer (v.)). Or the word may come from O.Fris. stiarne "rudder," which is also related to steer (v.).

stern

see from soup to nuts (stem to stern).

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