英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

steeple (n.)[steeple 词源字典]: Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower," related to steap "high, lofty," from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (see steep (adj.)). Also the name of a lofty style of women's head-dress from the 14th century. Steeple-house (1640s) was the old Quaker way of referring to "a church edifice," to avoid in that sense using church, which had with them a more restricted meaning.[steeple etymology, steeple origin, 英语词源]
steeplechase (n.): 1793 (earlier steeplehunt, 1772), from steeple + chase (n.). Originally an open-country horse race with a visible church steeple as a goal.
steeplejack (n.): "one who climbs steeples, chimneys, etc. to make repairs," 1881, from steeple + jack (n.) "fellow, man."
steepness (n.): mid-15c., from steep (adj.) + -ness.
steer (v.): "guide the course of a vehicle," originally by a rudder or something like it, Old English steran (Mercian), stieran (West Saxon) "steer, guide, direct; govern, rule; restrain, correct, punish," from Proto-Germanic *steurjan (cognates: Old Norse styra, Old Frisian stiora, Dutch sturen, Old High German stiuren, German steuern "to steer," Gothic stiurjan "to establish, assert"), related to *steuro "a rudder, a steering," from PIE *steu-ro- (cognates: Greek stauros "stake, pole"), extended form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

The notion is of a stiff, upright pillar or post used in steering, or else perhaps "establish," hence "direct, steer." Intransitive sense also was in Old English. To steer clear of in the figurative sense of "to avoid completely" is recorded from 1723. Related: Steered; steering.
steer (n.): "young ox," Old English steor "bullock," from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (cognates: Old Saxon stior, Old Norse stjorr, Swedish tjur, Danish tyr, Middle Dutch, Dutch, German stier, Gothic stiur "bull"), perhaps from PIE *steu-ro-, denoting "larger domestic animal" (see taurus). In U.S. of male beef cattle of any age.
steerable (adj.): 1836, originally of balloons, from steer (v.) + -able.
steerage (n.): c. 1400, "steering apparatus of a ship;" mid-15c., "action of steering," from steer (v.) + -age. Meaning "part of a ship in front of the chief cabin" is from 1610s; originally in the rear of the ship where the steering apparatus was, it retained the name after the introduction of the deck wheel in early 18c.; hence meaning "section of a ship with the cheapest accommodations," first recorded 1804, later found in the front part of a ship.
steering (n.): early 13c., verbal noun from steer (v.). Steering-wheel attested from 1750. Steering committee in the U.S. political sense is recorded from 1887.
stegosaurus (n.): type of plant-eating dinosaur, 1892, from Modern Latin order name Stegosauria (O.C. Marsh, 1877), from comb. form of Greek stegos "a roof" (related to stege "covering," stegein "to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover," especially "cover with a roof" (cognates: Sanskrit sthag- "cover, conceal, hide;" Latin tegere "to cover;" Lithuanian stegti "roof;" Old Norse þekja, Old English þeccan "thatch;" Dutch dekken, German decken "to cover, put under roof;" Irish tuigiur "cover," tech "house;" Welsh toi "thatch, roof," ty "house") + -saurus. The back-armor plates in the fossilized remains look like roof tiles.
stein (n.): earthenware mug, 1855, from German Stein, shortened form of Steinkrug "stone jug," from Stein "stone" (see stone (n.)) + Krug "jug, jar." Compare Old English stæne "pitcher, jug."
steinbock (n.): German; see steenbok.
Steinway (n.): make of pianos, from Henry Englehard Steinway (1797-1871), celebrated German piano-builder who founded the firm in New York in 1853.
stele (n.): "upright slab," usually inscribed, 1820, from Greek stele "standing block, slab," especially one bearing an inscription, such as a gravestone, from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)). Related: Stelar.
stell (v.): "to fix in position" (obsolete or dialectal), Old English stellan "to place, put, set," from West Germanic *stalljan (source also of German stellen; see stall (n.1)).
Stella: fem. proper name, from Latin stella "star" (see star (n.)).
stellar (adj.): 1650s, "pertaining to stars, star-like," from Late Latin stellaris "pertaining to a star, starry," from stella "star" (see star (n.)). Meaning "outstanding, leading" (1883) is from the theatrical sense of star.
stellate (adj.): c. 1500, "starry, star-spangled," from Latin stellatus "covered with stars," past participle of stellare "to set with stars," from stella (see star (n.)). Meaning "star-shaped" is recorded from 1660s.
stem (n.): Old English stemn, stefn "stem of a plant, trunk of a tree," also "either end-post of a ship," from Proto-Germanic *stamniz (cognates: Old Saxon stamm, Old Norse stafn "stem of a ship;" Danish stamme, Swedish stam "trunk of a tree;" Old High German stam, German Stamm), from suffixed form of PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

Meaning "support of a wineglass" is from 1835. Meaning "unchanging part of a word" is from 1830. Stems slang for "legs" is from 1860. The nautical sense is preserved in the phrase stem to stern "along the full length" (of a ship), attested from 1620s. Stem cell attested by 1885.
stem (v.1): "to hold back," early 14c., from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse stemma "to stop, dam up; be stopped, abate," from Proto-Germanic *stamjan (cognates: Swedish stämma, Old Saxon stemmian, Middle Dutch stemon, German stemmen "stop, resist, oppose"), from PIE root *stem- "to strike against something" (cognates: Lithuanian stumiu "thrust, push"). Not connected to stem (n.). Related: Stemmed; stemming. Phrase to stem the tide is literally "to hold back the tide," but often is confused with stem (v.2) "make headway against."

Verbal phrase stems from (1932, American English), perhaps is from stem (v.) in the sense "to rise, mount up, have origin in" (1570s), or is influenced by or translates German stammen aus, probably from a figurative sense represented by English stem (n.) in the sense of "stock of a family, line of descent" (c. 1540; cognates: family tree, and German stammvater "tribal ancestor," literally "stem-father").