stemless
Variant of stem
stem (stem)
noun
- the main upward-growing axis of a plant, having nodes and bearing leaves, usually extending in a direction opposite to that of the root and above the ground, and serving to support the plant and to transport and store food materials; specif., the main stalk or trunk of a tree, shrub, or other plant, from which leaves, flowers, and fruit develop
- any stalk or part supporting leaves, flowers, or fruit, as a pedicel, petiole, or peduncle
- a stalk of bananas
- a piece or part like a stem; specif.,
- the slender part of a tobacco pipe between the bowl and the bit, esp. the part between the shank and the bit
- a narrow supporting part between the foot and the bowl, as of a wineglass
- the cylindrical shaft projecting from a watch, with a knurled knob at its end for winding the spring, setting the hands, etc.
- the rounded rod in some locks, about which the key fits and is turned
- the main or thick stroke of a letter, as in printing
- the vertical line forming part of a musical note (other than a whole note)
- the shaft of a feather or hair
- the upright piece to which the side timbers or plates are attached to form the prow of a ship
- the forward part of a ship; prow; bow
- main line of descent of a family; ancestry; stock
- Linguis. the part of a word, consisting of a root or a root with one or more affixes, to which inflectional endings are added or in which inflectional phonetic changes are made the present stem “bring” is the base to which -s may be added to form “brings”
Etymology: ME < OE stemn, stefn, akin to Ger stamm, tree trunk < IE base *stebh-, post, pole > step, staff
transitive verb stemmed, stemming stem′·ming
- to remove the stem or stems from (a fruit, etc.)
- to provide (artificial flowers, etc.) with stems
Etymology: < stem
to make headway or progress against to row upstream, stemming the current
intransitive verb
from stem to stern
- from one end of a ship to the other
- through the entire length of anything
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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