stem

/stem/

Friendly

The word "stem" has several meanings in English, and I will explain them in a simple way for you.

Basic Meaning

1. Noun (in plants): The "stem" is the long, thin part of a plant that supports the leaves and flowers. It is usually green and grows upward from the ground. For example, in a rose, the stem is the part that holds the flowers above the leaves.

   • Example: "The stem of the flower was very strong."

2. Noun (in skiing): In skiing, a "stem" refers to a turn made by pushing one ski outward while keeping the other ski parallel to it. This helps the skier control their direction.

   • Example: "She made a perfect stem to turn around the corner."

3. Noun (in linguistics): The "stem" is the main part of a word after you remove any prefixes or suffixes. For example, in the word "unhappiness," the stem is "happy."

   • Example: "To find the stem of the word, you take off the prefix 'un' and the suffix 'ness'."

4. Noun (in vessels or aircraft): The "stem" can also refer to the front part of a boat or an aircraft.

   • Example: "He pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line, steering it from the stem."

5. Noun (in pipes): The "stem" is the long, narrow part of a tobacco pipe that connects the bowl (where the tobacco is placed) to the mouthpiece.

   • Example: "He cleaned the stem of his pipe carefully."

Advanced Usage

• Verb: To "stem" can also mean to stop the flow of something, like liquid or blood.

  • Example: "The doctor worked quickly to stem the blood flow from the injury."

• Phrase: "Stem the tide" means to stop or slow down a large problem or issue.

  • Example: "The government is trying to stem the tide of rising unemployment."

Variants

• Stemming (verb): The act of removing prefixes or suffixes from words to get to the stem.
• Stems (plural noun): Refers to multiple stems of plants or multiple instances of the verb "to stem."

Different Meanings

• In addition to the meanings listed above, "stem" can also refer to the origin of something, such as "the increase in the national debt stems from the last war," which means the debt originated or grew because of the war.

Synonyms

• For the plant meaning: stalk, shoot.
• For the verb meaning: stop, curtail, halt.
• For the skiing meaning: turn, curve.

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

• Stem from: This phrase means to originate from something.
  • Example: "His success stems from hard work."

Conclusion

The word "stem" can be used in different contexts, including plants, skiing, linguistics, and even in more figurative meanings.

Academic

Noun

1. a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it
2. front part of a vessel or aircraft
   • he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish line
3. the tube of a tobacco pipe
4. cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
5. a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
6. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
   • thematic vowels are part of the stem

Verb

1. remove the stem from
   • for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed
2. stop the flow of a liquid
   • staunch the blood flow
   • stem the tide
3. cause to point inward
   • stem your skis
4. grow out of, have roots in, originate in
   • The increase in the national debt stems from the last war

Synonyms

• stem turn
• bow
• fore
• prow
• shank
• stalk
• root
• root word
• base
• theme
• radical
• stanch
• staunch
• halt