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Webster 1913 Edition

Stew

Stew

,
Noun.
[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

,
Verb.
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
.

Stew

,
Verb.
I.
To be seethed or cooked in a slow, gentle manner, or in heat and moisture.

Stew

,
Noun.
[OE.
stue
,
stuwe
, OF.
estuve
. See
Stew
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
A place of stewing or seething; a place where hot bathes are furnished; a hothouse.
[Obs.]
As burning Aetna 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
stew
of pigeons
.
5.
A state of agitating excitement; a state of worry; confusion;
as, to be in a
stew
.
[Colloq.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Stew

STEW

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To seethe or gently boil; to boil slowly in a moderate manner, or with a simmering heat; as, to stew meat; to stew applies; to stew prunes.
2.
To boil in heat.

STEW

,
Verb.
I.
To be seethed in a slow gentle manner, or in heat and moisture.

STEW

,
Noun.
1.
A hot house; a bagnio.
The Lydians were inhibited by Cyrus to use any armor, and give themselves to baths and stews.
2.
A brothel; a house of prostitution; but generally or always used int he plural, stews.
3.
A prostitute. [Not in use.]
4.
[See Stow.] A store pond; a small pond where fish are kept for the table. [Not used.]
5.
Meat stewed; as a stew of pigeons.
6.
Confusion, as when the air is full of dust. [Not in use or local.]

Definition 2024

Stew

Stew

See also: stew

English

Proper noun

Stew

  1. A diminutive of the male given name Stewart.

See also

Anagrams

stew

stew

See also: Stew

English

Noun

stew ‎(usually uncountable, plural stews)

  1. (obsolete) A cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron. [14th-17thc.]
  2. (now historical) A heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath. [from 14thc.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter primum, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI:
      And when he came to the chamber there as this lady was the dores of yron vnlocked and vnbolted / And so syr launcelot wente in to the chambre that was as hote as ony stewe / And there syr launcelot toke the fayrest lady by the hand / that euer he sawe / and she was naked as a nedel
  3. (archaic) A brothel. [from 14thc.]
    • 1681, John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel
      And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews.
    • 1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh
      Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews.
    • 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, 2006, p.37:
      Although whores were permitted to sit at the door of the stew, they could not solicit in any way nor ‘chide or throw stones’ at passers-by.
  4. (obsolete) A prostitute.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir A. Weldon to this entry?)
  5. (uncountable, countable) A dish cooked by stewing. [from 18thc.]
    • 1870, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Wordsworth Classics, 1998, p.367:
      I noticed then that there was nothing to drink on the table but brandy, and nothing to eat but salted herrings, and a hot, sickly, highly peppered stew.
  6. (Sussex) A pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating.
  7. (US, regional) An artificial bed of oysters.
  8. (slang) A state of agitated excitement, worry, and/or confusion.
    to be in a stew‎
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

stew ‎(third-person singular simple present stews, present participle stewing, simple past and past participle stewed)

  1. (transitive or intransitive or ergative) To cook (food) by slowly boiling or simmering.
    I'm going to stew some meat for the casserole.
    The meat is stewing nicely.
  2. (transitive) To brew (tea) for too long, so that the flavour becomes too strong.
  3. (intransitive, figuratively) To suffer under uncomfortably hot conditions.
  4. (intransitive, figuratively) To be in a state of elevated anxiety or anger.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of steward or stewardess.

Noun

stew ‎(plural stews)

  1. A steward or stewardess on an airplane.
    • 1975 November 3, Mordecai Richler, "The Perils of Maureen", New York, volume 8, number 44, page 8 :
      And then, working as a stew for American Airlines, Mo met another older man […] .
    • 1991, Tom Clancy, The Sum of All Fears, 1992 edition, ISBN 0425184226, page 480 :
      " […] We want to know what he's going to be saying on his airplane."
      "I don't have the legs to dress up as a stew, doc. Besides, I never learned to do the tea ceremony, either."
    • 1992 January, Skip Hollandsworth, "Doing the Hustle", Texas Monthly, ISSN 0148-7736, volume 20, issue 1, page 52 :
      Dallas was also becoming known as a "stew zoo" because so many flight attendants were relocating there to work for Southwest, Braniff, and American Airlines.

Anagrams

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -uː

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