stew
nounverbnounnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//stjuː//
- United Kingdom//stʃuː//
- United States//stu//
- Australia//stʃʉː//
A dish cooked by stewing.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.
- 2
historicalA heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath.
- 3
archaicA brothel.
And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews.
Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews.
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
obsoleteA prostitute.
But it was so plotted betwixt the Lady, her Husband, and Bristol, that instead of that beauty, he had a notorious Stew sent him, and surely his carriage there was so lascivious...
- 5
A dish cooked by stewing.
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
A pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating.
It was used as a stew, so that the inhabitants of the castle could have fish on Fridays, and for this reason the architects had been careful not to let the drains and sewers run into it. It was stocked with fish every year.
- 7
An artificial bed of oysters.
- 8
slangA state of agitated excitement, worry, or confusion.
to be in a stew
- 9
slangUnwanted background noise recorded by the microphone.
mike stew
Etymology
From Middle English stewe, stue, from Anglo-Norman estouve, Old French estuve (“bath, bathhouse”) (modern French étuve), from Medieval Latin stupha, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *extufāre, from ex- + Ancient Greek τῦφος (tûphos, “smoke, steam”), from τύφω (túphō, “to smoke”). See also Italian stufare, Portuguese estufar. Compare also Old English stuf-bæþ (“a hot-air bath, vapour bath”); see stove.
verb
- 1
To cook (food) by slowly boiling or simmering.
I'm going to stew some meat for the casserole.
The meat is stewing nicely.
Then she took the heart and liver of the little girl, and she stewed them and brought them into the house for supper.
- 2
To brew (tea) for too long, so that the flavour becomes too strong.
- 3
figurativeTo suffer under uncomfortably hot conditions.
It was an honest letter, written by an honest man, then stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers.
- 4
figurativeTo be in a state of elevated anxiety or anger.
Etymology
From Middle English stewen, stuwen, from the noun above; and also from Middle English stiven, styven (“to bathe, cook, stew”).
noun
- 1
A cloud of fine particles or droplets; dust, smoke, vapor, mist, or sea-spray.
The Verna swerved close, her stern kicking up a stew as she started to back up.
'Johnston,' Ron shouted, 'couldn't knock the stew off a bap.'
Etymology
Probably related to Middle Dutch stuven (“be dusty”) and English stive. Perhaps the same word as stew (“steam-room; dish cooked by stewing”) above.
noun
- 1
informalA steward or stewardess on an airplane or boat.
It is our considered and combined judgement that Germans and actors share honors for being the cheapest dates a stew can accept.
And then, working as a stew for American Airlines, Mo met another older man[…].
"[…]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."
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.
Etymology
Clipping of steward or stewardess.
Forms
- plural
- stews
- past tense
- stewed
- past participle
- stewed
- present participle
- stewing
- third person singular
- stews