Stem - Definition

n 1: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are
removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn:
root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical]
2: a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or
fungus or a plant part or plant organ [syn: stalk, stem]
3: cylinder forming a long narrow part of something [syn:
shank, stem]
4: the tube of a tobacco pipe
5: front part of a vessel or aircraft; "he pointed the bow of
the boat toward the finish line" [syn: bow, fore, prow,
stem]
6: a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward
and the other ski is brought parallel to it [syn: stem
turn, stem]
v 1: grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in
the national debt stems from the last war"
2: cause to point inward; "stem your skis"
3: stop the flow of a liquid; "staunch the blood flow"; "stem
the tide" [syn: stem, stanch, staunch, halt]
4: remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language
processing, the words must be stemmed"