stem

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The main upright part of a plant that supports the leaves and flowers.

   She cut the flower with a long stem.

2. 2
   verb

   To come from or be caused by something.

   Most of her problems stem from a lack of confidence.

3. 3
   noun

   The base form of a word once all endings are removed.

   In grammar, the stem is what remains after the affixes are stripped away.

Appears in

From Middle English stem, stemme, stempne, stevin, from Old English stemn (“stem”), from Proto-West Germanic *stamni, from Proto-Germanic *stamniz (“stem, tree stalk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, stay”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch stam (“stem”), German Stamm (“stem”), Danish and Norwegian stamme (“stem”), Danish stavn, stævn (“stem of a boat”), Faroese stavnur (“stem of a boat”), stovnur (“institution, public body, foundation, basis”), Icelandic stafn (“stem of a boat”), stofn (“trunk, stock, livestock, stem”), Norn stomna, stimna (“strength, ability”), Swedish st…

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary