Stern Definition

stûrn
sternest, sterner
adjective
sternest, sterner
Hard; severe; unyielding; strict.
Stern measures.
Webster's New World
Showing or expressing displeasure or disapproval; forbidding or harsh.
A stern face; a stern voice.
American Heritage
Grim; forbidding.
A stern face.
Webster's New World
Relentless; inexorable.
Stern reality.
Webster's New World
Unshakable; firm.
Stern determination.
Webster's New World
noun
The rear end of a ship or boat.
Webster's New World
The rear end of anything.
Webster's New World
(figuratively) The post of management or direction.
Wiktionary

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

Wiktionary
A bird, the black tern.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Stern

Noun

Singular:
stern
Plural:
sterns

Adjective

Base Form:
stern
Comparative:
sterner
Superlative:
sternest

Origin of Stern

  • From Middle English stern, sterne, sturne, from Old English styrne (“stern, grave, strict, austere, hard, severe, cruel"), from Proto-Germanic *sturnijaz (“angry, astonished, shocked"), from Proto-Indo-European *ster-, *ter- (“rigid, stiff"). Cognate with Scots stern (“bold, courageous, fierce, resolute"), Old High German stornÄ“n (“to be astonished"), Dutch stuurs (“glum, austere"), Swedish stursk (“insolent").

    From Wiktionary

  • Most likely from Old Norse stjórn (“control, steering"), related to stýra (“to steer"), from Proto-Germanic *stiurijanÄ…, whence also English steer. Also possibly from Old Frisian stiarne (“rudder"), from the same Germanic root.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English sterne perhaps of Scandinavian origin Old Norse stjōrn rudder stā- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English sterne from Old English styrne ster-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old English

    From Wiktionary

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