Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “stem” come from?

Stem comes from English steem, Middle French estimer, and Proto-Indo-European steh₂-, which meant to stand or set in place.

stem (English): The stock of a family; a race or generation of...

Definitions

  1. The stock of a family; a race or generation of...

Ancestry of “stem”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfemmeA woman, a wife; a young woman or girl; A...
2Frenchfemmewoman; wife; Alternative form of fem
3Middle Frenchfemmewife; woman
4Old Frenchfamewife, female partner; woman
5Latinfēmina—
6Proto-Italicfēmanāwoman
7Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-m̥n-eh₂who sucks; one who is sucked; one who suckles;...
8Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁(y)-to suckle, nurse

Words derived from “stem”

  • stemming
  • mainstem
  • bluestem
  • stemless
  • stemware
  • stemflow
  • pipestem
  • stemmer
  • pseudostem
  • stemplot
  • stempost
  • stemmy
  • stemlike
  • stemborer
  • stemwinder
  • stembark
  • stemhead
  • nonstem
  • bestem
  • multistem
  • restem
  • unstemmable
  • stemlet
  • stemline
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁(y)- →