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Stern   /stərn/   Listen
adjective
Stern  adj.  (compar. sterner; superl. sternest)  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." "I would outstare the sternest eyes that look." "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff." "Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard." "These barren rocks, your stern inheritance."
Synonyms: Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind; hard-hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.



Stern  adj.  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.



noun
Stern  n.  (Zool.) The black tern.



Stern  n.  
1.
The helm or tiller of a vessel or boat; also, the rudder. (Obs.)
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."
4.
The hinder part of anything.
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.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Stern" Quotes from Famous Books



... other human being with whom she was in relations? Helen perceived, or rather felt, that she had, folded up in the depths of her being, a true womanly nature. Through the cloud that darkened her aspect, now and then a ray would steal forth, which, like the smile of stern and solemn people, was all the more impressive from its contrast with the expression she wore habitually. It might well be that pain and fatigue had changed her aspect; but, at any rate, Helen looked into her eyes without that ...
— The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Physician and Poet not the Jurist)

... the general's entire fortune. Roland's departure on this adventurous expedition deeply afflicted the poor widow. The death of the father seemed to presage that of the son, and Madame de Montrevel, a sweet, gentle Creole, was far from possessing the stern virtues of a Spartan or ...
— The Companions of Jehu • Alexandre Dumas, pere

... nights spent in the motley company, and it struck him that the person of the veiled lady would be an addition which might enhance his credit. Monsieur Jausion found, however, that an important figure was lacking, and he asked in a stern tone whether Bousquier had not forgotten somebody. Bousquier was startled and pondered. "Try your best to remember," urged the magistrate; "what you conceal may turn into a rope for your neck. Speak out, then: was there not a tall, robust man present also?" ...
— The German Classics, v. 20 - Masterpieces of German Literature • Various

... Baron accordingly descended the steps into the galiot's boat, in the stern of which sat the Captain, his weight lifting the bows up considerably out of the water. A sailor in a woollen shirt who had lost one eye, and squinted with the other, and a nose, the ruddy tip of which seemed anxious ...
— Voyages and Travels of Count Funnibos and Baron Stilkin • William H. G. Kingston

... touched the back of the animal, which, irritating him, occasioned this furious attack; and had he got his upper jaw above the gunwale, the whole broadside must have been torn out. The force of the shock from beneath, previously to the attack, was so violent, that her stern was almost lifted out of the water, and Mr. Tambs, the midshipman steering, was thrown overboard, but fortunately rescued before the irritated ...
— Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals • R. Lee


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