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.

Common collocations

• stem cell Adjective + noun

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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