Chapter 98

Ste"re*o*type (?), n. [Stereo- + -type: cf. F. stéréotype.] 1. A plate forming an exact faximile of a page of type or of an engraving, used in printing books, etc.; specifically, a plate with type-metal face, used for printing.

A stereotype, or stereotypr plate, is made by setting movable type as for ordinary printing; from these a cast is taken in plaster of Paris, paper pulp, or the like, and upon this cast melted type metal is poured, which, when hardened, makes a solid page or column, from which the impression is taken as from type.

2. The art or process of making such plates, or of executing work by means of them.

Stereotype block, a block, usually of wood, to which a stereotype plate is attached while being used in printing.

Ste"re*o*type, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stereotyped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stereotyping (?).] [Cf. F. stéréotyper.] 1. To prepare for printing in stereotype; to make the stereotype plates of; as, to stereotype the Bible.

2. Fig.: To make firm or permanent; to fix.

Powerful causes tending to stereotype and aggravate the poverty of old conditions.

Duke of Argyll (1887).

Ste"re*o*typed (?), a. 1. Formed into, or printed from, stereotype plates.

2. Fig.: Formed in a fixed, unchangeable manner; as, stereotyped opinions.

Our civilization, with its stereotyped ways and smooth conventionalities.

J. C. Shairp.

Ste"re*o*ty`per (?), n. One who stereotypes; one who makes stereotype plates, or works in a stereotype foundry.

Ste"re*o*ty`per*y (?), n. 1. The art, process, or employment of making stereotype plates.

2. A place where stereotype plates are made; a stereotype foundry.

Ste`re*o*typ"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to stereotype, or stereotype plates.

Ste"re*o*ty`pist (?), n. A stereotyper.

Ste`re*o*ty*pog"ra*pher (?), n. A stereotype printer.

Ste`re*o*ty*pog"ra*phy (?), n. [Stereo- + typography.] The act or art of printing from stereotype plates.

Ste"re*o*ty`py (?), n. [Cf. F. stéréotypie.] The art or process of making stereotype plates.

Ster`hy*drau"lic (?), a. [Stereo- + hydraulic.] Pertaining to, or designating, a kind of hydraulic press; resembling such a press in action or principle.

Sterhydraulic press, an hydraulic press producing pressure or motion by the introduction of a solid substance (as a long rod, or a cord wound on a roller) into a cylinder previously filled with a liquid.

Ster"ile (?), a. [F. stérile, L. sterilis, akin to Gr. stereo`s stiff, solid, stei^ros barren, stei^ra a cow that has not calved, Goth. stair, fem., barren. See Stare to gaze.] 1. Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile; as, sterile land; a sterile desert; a sterile year.

2. (Biol.) (a) Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit; unfruitful; as, a sterile flower, which bears only stamens. (b) Free from reproductive spores or germs; as, a sterile fluid.

3. Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment; as, a sterile production or author.

Ste*ril"i*ty (?), n. [L. sterilitas: cf. F. stérilité.] 1. The quality or condition of being sterile.

2. (Biol.) Quality of being sterile; infecundity; also, the state of being free from germs or spores.

Ster`il*i*za"tion (?), n. (Biol.) The act or process of sterilizing, or rendering sterile; also, the state of being sterile.

Ster"il*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sterilized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sterilizing (?).] [Cf. F. stériliser.] 1. To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility. [R.] "Sterilizing the earth." Woodward.

2. (Biol.) (a) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile. (b) To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture), as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other organisms.

Ster"let (?), n. [Russ. sterliade.] (Zoöl.) A small sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus) found in the Caspian Sea and its rivers, and highly esteemed for its flavor. The finest caviare is made from its roe.

Ster"ling (?), n. (Engin.) Same as Starling, 3.

Ster"ling, n. [OE. sterlynge, starling, for easterling, LL. esterlingus, probably from Easterling, once the popular name of German trades in England, whose money was of the purest quality: cf. MHG. sterlink a certain coin. Cf. East. "Certain merchants of Norwaie, Denmarke, and of others those parties, called Ostomanni, or (as in our vulgar language we tearme them), easterlings, because they lie east in respect of us." Holinshed. "In the time of . . . King Richard the First, monie coined in the east parts of Germanie began to be of especiall request in England for the puritie thereof, and was called Easterling monie, as all inhabitants of those parts were called Easterlings, and shortly after some of that countrie, skillful in mint matters and allaies, were sent for into this realme to bring the coine to perfection; which since that time was called of them sterling, for Easterling." Camden. "Four thousand pound of sterlings." R. of Gloucester.] 1. Any English coin of standard value; coined money.

So that ye offer nobles or sterlings.

Chaucer.

And Roman wealth in English sterling view.

Arbuthnot.

2. A certain standard of quality or value for money.

Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign.

S. M. Leake.

Ster"ling (?), a. 1. Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage; as, a pound sterling; a shilling sterling; a penny sterling; -- now chiefly applied to the lawful money of England; but sterling cost, sterling value, are used. "With sterling money." Shak.

2. Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value; as, a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling good sense.

Stern (?), n. [AS. stearn a kind of bird. See Starling.] (Zoöl.) The black tern.

Stern, a. [Compar. Sterner (?); superl. Sternest.] [OE. sterne, sturne, AS. styrne; cf. D. stuurish stern, Sw. stursk refractory. √166.] Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed; unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as, a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern gaze; a stern decree.

The sterne wind so loud gan to rout.

Chaucer.

I would outstare the sternest eyes that look.

Shak.

When that the poor have cried, Cæsar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.

Shak.

Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard.

Dryden.

These barren rocks, your stern inheritance.

Wordsworth.

Syn. -- Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind; hard- hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.

Stern, n. [Icel. stjrn a steering, or a doubtful AS. steórn. √166. See Steer, v. t.] 1. The helm or tiller of a vessel or boat; also, the rudder. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. (Naut.) The after or rear end of a ship or other vessel, or of a boat; the part opposite to the stem, or prow.

3. Fig.: The post of management or direction.

And sit chiefest stern of public weal.

Shak.

4. The hinder part of anything. Spenser.

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

By the stern. (Naut.) See By the head, under By.

Stern, a. Being in the stern, or being astern; as, the stern davits.

Stern board (Naut.), a going or falling astern; a loss of way in making a tack; as, to make a stern board. See Board, n., 8 (b). -- Stern chase. (Naut.) (a) See under Chase, n. (b) A stern chaser. -- Stern chaser (Naut.), a cannon placed in a ship's stern, pointing backward, and intended to annoy a ship that is in pursuit. -- Stern fast (Naut.), a rope used to confine the stern of a ship or other vessel, as to a wharf or buoy. -- Stern frame (Naut.), the framework of timber forms the stern of a ship. -- Stern knee. See Sternson. -- Stern port (Naut.), a port, or opening, in the stern of a ship. -- Stern sheets (Naut.), that part of an open boat which is between the stern and the aftmost seat of the rowers, -- usually furnished with seats for passengers. -- Stern wheel, a paddle wheel attached to the stern of the steamboat which it propels.

Stern"age (?), n. Stern. [R.] Shak.

Ster"nal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum; in the region of the sternum.

Sternal ribs. See the Note under Rib, n., 1.

Stern"berg*ite (?), n. [So named after Count Kaspar Sternberg of Prague.] (Min.) A sulphide of silver and iron, occurring in soft flexible laminæ varying in color from brown to black.

||Ster"ne*bra (?), n.; pl. Sternebræ (#). [NL., fr. sternum + - bra of ||vertebra.] (Anat.) One of the segments of the sternum. -- ||Ster"ne*bral (#), a.

Sterned (?), a. Having a stern of a particular shape; -- used in composition; as, square- sterned.

Stern"er (?), n. [See 3d Stern.] A director. [Obs. & R.] Dr. R. Clerke.

Stern`fore"most` (?), adv. With the stern, instead of the bow, in advance; hence, figuratively, in an awkward, blundering manner.

A fatal genius for going sternforemost.

Lowell.

Ster"nite (?), n. [From Sternum.] (Zoöl.) The sternum of an arthropod somite.

Stern"ly (?), adv. In a stern manner.

Stern"most` (?), a. Farthest in the rear; farthest astern; as, the sternmost ship in a convoy.

Stern"ness, n. The quality or state of being stern.

Ster"no- (?). A combining form used in anatomy to indicate connection with, or relation to, the sternum; as, sternocostal, sternoscapular.

Ster`no*cor"a*coid (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the coracoid.

Ster`no*cos"tal (?), a. [Sterno- + costal.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the ribs; as, the sternocostal cartilages.

Ster`no*hy"oid (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the hyoid bone or cartilage.

Ster`no*mas"toid (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the mastoid process.

Ster`no*thy"roid (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the thyroid cartilage.

Stern"post` (?), n. (Naut.) A straight piece of timber, or an iron bar or beam, erected on the extremity of the keel to support the rudder, and receive the ends of the planks or plates of the vessel.

Sterns"man (?), n. A steersman. [Obs.]

Stern"son (?), n. [See Stern, n., and cf. Stemson.] (Naut.) The end of a ship's keelson, to which the sternpost is bolted; -- called also stern knee.

Ster"num (?), n.; pl. L. Sterna (#), E. Sternums (#). [NL., from Gr. &?;, the breast, chest.] 1. (Anat.) A plate of cartilage, or a series of bony or cartilaginous plates or segments, in the median line of the pectoral skeleton of most vertebrates above fishes; the breastbone.

The sternum is connected with the ribs or the pectorial girdle, or with both. In man it is a flat bone, broad anteriorly, narrowed behind, and connected with the clavicles and the cartilages of the seven anterior pairs of ribs. In most birds it has a high median keel for the attachment of the muscles of the wings.

2. (Zoöl.) The ventral part of any one of the somites of an arthropod.

Ster`nu*ta"tion (?), n. [L. sternutatio, fr. sternutare to sneeze, intens. from sternuere.] The act of sneezing. Quincy.

Ster*nu"ta*tive (?), a. Having the quality of provoking to sneeze.

Ster*nu"ta*to*ry (?), a. Sternutative. -- n. A sternutatory substance or medicine.

Stern"way` (?), n. (Naut.) The movement of a ship backward, or with her stern foremost.

Stern"-wheel` (?), a. Having a paddle wheel at the stern; as, a stern-wheel steamer.

Stern"-wheel`er (?), n. A steamboat having a stern wheel instead of side wheels. [Colloq. U.S.]

Ster*quil"i*nous (?), a. [L. sterquilinium a dung pit, fr. stercus dung.] Pertaining to a dunghill; hence, mean; dirty; paltry. [Obs.] Howell.

Ster"re (?), n. A star. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Ster"rink (?), n. (Zoöl.) The crab-eating seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) of the Antarctic Ocean.

Ster"ro*met`al (?), n. [Gr. &?; firm, solid + E. metal.] Any alloy of copper, zinc, tin, and iron, of which cannon are sometimes made.

Stert (?), obs. p. p. of Start. Started. Chaucer.

Ster"te (?), obs. p. p. of Start. Chaucer.

Ster*to"ri*ous (str*t"r*s), a. Stertorous. [R.]

Ster"to*rous (str"t*rs), a. [L. stertere to snore: cf. F. stertoreux.] Characterized by a deep snoring, which accompanies inspiration in some diseases, especially apoplexy; hence, hoarsely breathing; snoring.

Burning, stertorous breath that hurt her cheek.

Mrs. Browning.

The day has ebbed away, and it is night in his room, before his stertorous breathing lulls.

Dickens.

Sterve (strv), v. t. & i. To die, or cause to die; to perish. See Starve. [Obs.] Chaucer. Spenser.

Stet (stt), L., subj. 3d pers. sing. of stare to stand, remain. [See Stand.] (Print.) Let it stand; -- a word used by proof readers to signify that something once erased, or marked for omission, is to remain.

Stet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stetted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stetting.] (Print.) To cause or direct to remain after having been marked for omission; to mark with the word stet, or with a series of dots below or beside the matter; as, the proof reader stetted a deled footnote.

Steth"al (?), n. [Stearic + ethal.] (Chem.) One of the higher alcohols of the methane series, homologous with ethal, and found in small quantities as an ethereal salt of stearic acid in spermaceti.

Steth"o*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; the breast + -graph.] (Physiol.) See Pneumatograph.

Ste*thom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; chest + -meter.] (Physiol.) An apparatus for measuring the external movements of a given point of the chest wall, during respiration; -- also called thoracometer.

Steth"o*scope (stth"*skp), n. [Gr. sth^qos the breast + - scope: cf. F. stéthoscope.] (Med.) An instrument used in auscultation for examining the organs of the chest, as the heart and lungs, by conveying to the ear of the examiner the sounds produced in the thorax.

Steth"o*scope, v. t. To auscultate, or examine, with a stethoscope. M. W. Savage.

{ Steth`o*scop"ic (?), Steth`o*scop"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. stéthoscopique.] Of or pertaining to a stethoscope; obtained or made by means of a stethoscope. -- Steth`o*scop"ic*al*ly, adv.

Ste*thos"co*pist (?), n. One skilled in the use of the stethoscope.

Ste*thos"co*py (?), n. The art or process of examination by the stethoscope.

Steve (?), v. t. [See Stevedore.] To pack or stow, as cargo in a ship's hold. See Steeve.

Ste"ve*dore` (?), n. [Sp. estivador a packer, a stower, fr. estivar to pack, to stow, L. stipare to press, compress, probably akin to E. stiff. See Stiff, Stive to stuff.] One whose occupation is to load and unload vessels in port; one who stows a cargo in a hold.

Ste"ven (?), n. [AS. stefn, stemn, voice; akin to D. stem, G. stimme, Goth. stibna.] 1. Voice; speech; language. [Obs. or Scot.]

Ye have as merry a steven As any angel hath that is in heaven.

Chaucer.

2. An outcry; a loud call; a clamor. [Obs.] Spenser.

To set steven, to make an appointment. [Obs.]

They setten steven for to meet To playen at the dice.

Chaucer.

Stew (?), n. [Cf. Stow.] 1. A small pond or pool where fish are kept for the table; a vivarium. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Chaucer. Evelyn.

2. An artificial bed of oysters. [Local, U.S.]

Stew, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stewed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stewing.] [OE. stuven, OF. estuver, F. étuver, fr. OF. estuve, F. étuve, a sweating house, a room heated for a bath; probably of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. stove. See Stove, and cf. Stive to stew.] To boil slowly, or with the simmering or moderate heat; to seethe; to cook in a little liquid, over a gentle fire, without boiling; as, to stew meat; to stew oysters; to stew apples.

<! p. 1413 !>

Stew (?), v. i. To be seethed or cooked in a slow, gentle manner, or in heat and moisture.

Stew, n. [OE. stue, stuwe, OF. estuve. See Stew, v. t.] 1. A place of stewing or seething; a place where hot bathes are furnished; a hothouse. [Obs.]

As burning Ætna from his boiling stew Doth belch out flames.

Spenser.

The Lydians were inhibited by Cyrus to use any armor, and give themselves to baths and stews.

Abp. Abbot.

2. A brothel; -- usually in the plural. Bacon. South.

There be that hate harlots, and never were at the stews.

Aschman.

3. A prostitute. [Obs.] Sir A. Weldon.

4. A dish prepared by stewing; as, a stewof pigeons.

5. A state of agitating excitement; a state of worry; confusion; as, to be in a stew. [Colloq.]

Stew"ard (?), n. [OE. stiward, AS. stweard, stigweard, literally, a sty ward; stigu sty + weard warden, guardian, -- his first duty having been probably to attend to the domestic animals. &radic;164. See Sty pen for swine, Ward.] 1. A man employed in a large family, or on a large estate, to manage the domestic concerns, supervise other servants, collect the rents or income, keep accounts, and the like.

Worthy to be stewards of rent and land.

Chaucer.

They came near to the steward of Joseph's house.

Gen. xliii. 19.

As good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Pet. iv. 10.

2. A person employed in a hotel, or a club, or on board a ship, to provide for the table, superintend the culinary affairs, etc. In naval vessels, the captain's steward, wardroom steward, steerage steward, warrant officers steward, etc., are petty officers who provide for the messes under their charge.

3. A fiscal agent of certain bodies; as, a steward in a Methodist church.

4. In some colleges, an officer who provides food for the students and superintends the kitchen; also, an officer who attends to the accounts of the students.

5. In Scotland, a magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands. Erskine.

Lord high steward, formerly, the first officer of the crown; afterward, an officer occasionally appointed, as for a coronation, or upon the trial of a peer. [Eng.]

Stew"ard, v. t. To manage as a steward. [Obs.]

Stew"ard*ess, n. A female steward; specifically, a woman employed in passenger vessels to attend to the wants of female passengers.

Stew"ard*ly, adv. In a manner, or with the care, of a steward. [R.]

To be stewardly dispensed, not wastefully spent.

Tooker.

Stew"ard*ship, n. The office of a steward. Shak.

Stew"art*ry (?), n. 1. An overseer or superintendent. [R.] "The stewartry of provisions." Tooke.

2. The office of a steward; stewardship. [R.] Byron.

3. In Scotland, the jurisdiction of a steward; also, the lands under such jurisdiction.

Stew"ish, a. Suiting a stew, or brothel. Bp. Hall.

Stew"pan` (?), n. A pan used for stewing.

Stew"pot` (?), n. A pot used for stewing.

Stey (?), n. See Stee.

Sthen"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; strength: cf. F. sthénique.] (Med.) Strong; active; -- said especially of morbid states attended with excessive action of the heart and blood vessels, and characterized by strength and activity of the muscular and nervous system; as, a sthenic fever.

Sthenic theory. See Stimulism (a).

||Sti*ac*cia"to (?), n. [It., crushed, flattened.] (Sculp.) The lowest ||relief, -- often used in Italian sculpture of the 15th and 16th ||centuries.

Sti"an (?), n. A sty on the eye. See Styan.

Stib"born (?), a. Stubborn. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Stib"i*al (?), a. [See Stibium.] Like, or having the qualities of, antimony; antimonial.

Stib"i*al*ism (?), n. (Med.) Antimonial intoxication or poisoning. Dunglison.

Stib"i*a`ted (?), a. [NL. stibiatus, from L. stibium antimony.] (Med. Chem.) Combined or impregnated with antimony (stibium).

Stibiated tartar. See Tartar emetic, under Tartar.

Stib"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Antimonic; -- used with reference to certain compounds of antimony.

Stib"i*co*nite (?), n. (Min.) A native oxide of antimony occurring in masses of a yellow color.

Stib"ine (?), n. (Chem.) Antimony hydride, or hydrogen antimonide, a colorless gas produced by the action of nascent hydrogen on antimony. It has a characteristic odor and burns with a characteristic greenish flame. Formerly called also antimoniureted hydrogen.

Stib"i*ous (?), a. (Chem.) Antimonious. [R.]

||Stib"i*um (?), n. [L. stibium, stibi, Gr. &?;, &?;.] 1. (Chem.) The ||technical name of antimony.

2. (Min.) Stibnite. [Obs.]

Stib"nite (?), n. (Min.) A mineral of a lead-gray color and brilliant metallic luster, occurring in prismatic crystals; sulphide of antimony; -- called also antimony glance, and gray antimony.

Sti*bo"ni*um (?), n. (Chem.) The hypothetical radical SbH4, analogous to ammonium; -- called also antimonium.

Stic*ca"do (?), n. [Cf. It. steccato a palisade.] (Mus.) An instrument consisting of small bars of wood, flat at the bottom and rounded at the top, and resting on the edges of a kind of open box. They are unequal in size, gradually increasing from the smallest to the largest, and are tuned to the diatonic scale. The tones are produced by striking the pieces of wood with hard balls attached to flexible sticks.

Stich (?), n. [Gr. sti`chos a row, line, akin to to go, march, E. sty, v.i.] 1. A verse, of whatever measure or number of feet.

2. A line in the Scriptures; specifically (Hebrew Scriptures), one of the rhythmic lines in the poetical books and passages of the Old Treatment, as written in the oldest Hebrew manuscripts and in the Revised Version of the English Bible.

3. A row, line, or rank of trees.

Stich"ic (?), a. [Gr. stichiko`s.] Of or pertaining to stichs, or lines; consisting of stichs, or lines. [R.]

||Sti*chid"i*um (?), n.; pl. Stichida (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, dim. of ||&?; a row.] (Bot.) A special podlike or fusiform branch containing ||tetraspores. It is found in certain red algæ.

Stich"o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. &?; a line + -mancy.] Divination by lines, or passages of books, taken at hazard.

Stich`o*met"ric*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to stichometry; characterized by stichs, or lines.

Stich*om"e*try (?), n. [Gr. &?; a line + -metry.] 1. Measurement of books by the number of lines which they contain.

2. Division of the text of a book into lines; especially, the division of the text of books into lines accommodated to the sense, -- a method of writing manuscripts used before punctuation was adopted.

Stich"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of chickweed (Stellaria Holostea). [Written also stitchwort.]

Stick (?), n. [OE. sticke, AS. sticca; akin to stician to stab, prick, pierce, G. stecken a stick, staff, OHG. steccho, Icel. stik a stick. See Stick, v. t..] 1. A small shoot, or branch, separated, as by a cutting, from a tree or shrub; also, any stem or branch of a tree, of any size, cut for fuel or timber.

Withered sticks to gather, which might serve Against a winter's day.

Milton.

2. Any long and comparatively slender piece of wood, whether in natural form or shaped with tools; a rod; a wand; a staff; as, the stick of a rocket; a walking stick.

3. Anything shaped like a stick; as, a stick of wax.

4. A derogatory expression for a person; one who is inert or stupid; as, an odd stick; a poor stick. [Colloq.]

5. (Print.) A composing stick. See under Composing. It is usually a frame of metal, but for posters, handbills, etc., one made of wood is used.

6. A thrust with a pointed instrument; a stab.

A stick of eels, twenty-five eels. [Prov. Eng.] -- Stick chimney, a chimney made of sticks laid crosswise, and cemented with clay or mud, as in some log houses. [U.S.] -- Stick insect, (Zoöl.), any one of various species of wingless orthopterous insects of the family Phasmidæ, which have a long round body, resembling a stick in form and color, and long legs, which are often held rigidly in such positions as to make them resemble small twigs. They thus imitate the branches and twigs of the trees on which they live. The common American species is Diapheromera femorata. Some of the Asiatic species are more than a foot long. -- To cut one's stick, or To cut stick, to run away. [Slang] De Quincey.