Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

stem

/stɛm/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.30 in modern English

Syllables
stem
IPA
/stɛm/
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.

noun

A branch of a family.

noun

A branch of a family.

noun

An advanced or leading position; the lookout.

noun

The above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and corms.

noun

A slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf; also, by analogy, the shaft of a feather.

noun

A narrow part on certain man-made objects, such as a wine glass, a tobacco pipe, a spoon.

noun

The main part of an uninflected word to which affixes may be added to form inflections of the word. A stem often has a more fundamental root. Systematic conjugations and declensions derive from their stems.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *sth₂mnís Proto-Germanic *stamniz Proto-West Germanic *stamni Old English stemn Middle English stemme English stem 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 stäm (“tree trunk, stem”), stäv (“stem of a boat”), stomme (“frame, structure”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍉𐌼𐌰 (stōma, “substantial grounds, just cause”), Asturian estame (“stamen”), Aragonese estambre (“stamen”), Catalan estam (“stamen”), French étaim (“yarn”), Galician estame (“stamen, yarn”), Italian stame (“stamen”), Portuguese estame (“stem, yarn”), Spanish Spanish estambre (“stamen, a type of yarn”), Latin stāmen (“warp of a loom, thread hanging from a distaff”), Ancient Greek στῆμα (stêma, “stamen of a flower”), στάμνος (stámnos, “earthen jar, bottle for racking off wine”), Albanian shtamë (“pot, jar, pitcher, jug”), Sanskrit स्थामन् (sthā́man, “place, strength”). Doublet of stamen. Not related to English stoma, which is a Greek loan inherited through New Latin.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: stem, stemn, *stamni, *stamniz, *steh₂-, stemmen

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /stɛm/
  • British English: /stɛm/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.

Inflected Forms

stems (plural) stems (present, singular) stemming (participle, present) stemmed (participle, past) stemmed (past)

Derived Forms

bestem bluestem brittlestem destem macrostem mainstem multistem nonstem pipestem pseudostem redstem restem

Phrases

a-stem brain stem celestial stem consonant stem D-stem flower stem stem to stern give the stem

Frequently Paired Words

STEAM STEMM

Synonyms

tail virgula bow fore forestem prow beak prore to be due to to arise from

Homonyms

stim (pin–pen merger) stem

Antonyms

stern aft poop

Rhymes With

them pm em gm fm gem atm condemn rpm chem rem prem

Questions

How do you pronounce stem?
The recorded pronunciation is /stɛm/.
What does stem mean?
The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.
Where does stem come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce stem

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “stem”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/stɛm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “stem”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “stem” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.