Sterling Ster"ling noun (Engineering) Same as Starling , 3.

Sterling Ster"ling noun [ Middle English sterlynge , starling , for easterling , Late Latin esterlingus , probably from Easterling , once the popular name of German trades in England, whose money was of the purest quality: confer Middle High German sterlink a certain coin. Confer East . "Certain merchants of Norwaie, Denmarke, and of others those parties, called Ostomanni, or (as in our vulgar language we tearme them), easterlings , because they lie east in respect of us." Holinshed. "In the time of . . . King Richard the First, monie coined in the east parts of Germanie began to be of especiall request in England for the puritie thereof, and was called Easterling monie, as all inhabitants of those parts were called Easterlings , and shortly after some of that countrie, skillful in mint matters and allaies, were sent for into this realme to bring the coine to perfection; which since that time was called of them sterling , for Easterling ." Camden. "Four thousand pound of sterlings ." R. of Gloucester. ] 1. Any English coin of standard value; coined money.

So that ye offer nobles or sterlings .

Chaucer.

And Roman wealth in English sterling view.

Arbuthnot.

2. A certain standard of quality or value for money.

Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign.

S. M. Leake.

Sterling Ster"ling adjective 1. Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage; as, a pound sterling ; a shilling sterling ; a penny sterling ; -- now chiefly applied to the lawful money of England; but sterling cost, sterling value, are used. "With sterling money." Shak.

2. Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value; as, a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling good sense.

Stern Stern noun [ Anglo-Saxon stearn a kind of bird. See Starling .] (Zoology) The black tern.

Stern Stern adjective [ Compar. Sterner ; superl. Sternest .] [ Middle English sterne , sturne , Anglo-Saxon styrne ; confer Dutch stuurish stern, Swedish stursk refractory. √166.] Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed; unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as, a stern resolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern gaze; a stern decree.

The sterne wind so loud gan to rout.

Chaucer.

I would outstare the sternest eyes that look.

Shak.

When that the poor have cried, Cæsar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.

Shak.

Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard.

Dryden.

These barren rocks, your stern inheritance.

Wordsworth.

Syn. -- Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind; hard- hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.

Stern Stern noun [ Icelandic stjōrn a steering, or a doubtful Anglo-Saxon steórn . √166. See Steer , transitive verb ] 1. The helm or tiller of a vessel or boat; also, the rudder. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. (Nautical) The after or rear end of a ship or other vessel, or of a boat; the part opposite to the stem, or prow.

3. Fig.: The post of management or direction.

And sit chiefest stern of public weal.

Shak.

4. The hinder part of anything. Spenser.

5. The tail of an animal; -- now used only of the tail of a dog.

By the stern . (Nautical) See By the head , under By .

Stern Stern adjective Being in the stern, or being astern; as, the stern davits.

Stern board (Nautical) , a going or falling astern; a loss of way in making a tack; as, to make a stern board . See Board , noun , 8 (b) . -- Stern chase . (Nautical) (a) See under Chase , noun (b) A stern chaser. -- Stern chaser (Nautical) , a cannon placed in a ship's stern, pointing backward, and intended to annoy a ship that is in pursuit. -- Stern fast (Nautical) , a rope used to confine the stern of a ship or other vessel, as to a wharf or buoy. -- Stern frame (Nautical) , the framework of timber forms the stern of a ship. -- Stern knee . See Sternson . -- Stern port (Nautical) , a port, or opening, in the stern of a ship. -- Stern sheets (Nautical) , that part of an open boat which is between the stern and the aftmost seat of the rowers, -- usually furnished with seats for passengers. -- Stern wheel , a paddle wheel attached to the stern of the steamboat which it propels.

Stern-wheel Stern"-wheel` adjective Having a paddle wheel at the stern; as, a stern-wheel steamer.

Stern-wheeler Stern"-wheel`er noun A steamboat having a stern wheel instead of side wheels. [ Colloq. U.S.]

Sternage Stern"age noun Stern. [ R.] Shak.

Sternal Ster"nal adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum; in the region of the sternum.

Sternal ribs . See the Note under Rib , noun , 1.

Sternbergite Stern"berg·ite noun [ So named after Count Kaspar Sternberg of Prague.] (Min.) A sulphide of silver and iron, occurring in soft flexible laminæ varying in color from brown to black.

Sternebra Ster"ne·bra noun ; plural Sternebræ . [ New Latin , from sternum + - bra of vertebra .] (Anat.) One of the segments of the sternum. -- Ster"ne*bral adjective

Sterned Sterned adjective Having a stern of a particular shape; -- used in composition; as, square- sterned .

Sterner Stern"er noun [ See 3d Stern .] A director. [ Obsolete & R.] Dr. R. Clerke.

Sternforemost Stern`fore"most` adverb With the stern, instead of the bow, in advance; hence, figuratively, in an awkward, blundering manner.

A fatal genius for going sternforemost .

Lowell.

Sternite Ster"nite noun [ From Sternum .] (Zoology) The sternum of an arthropod somite.

Sternly Stern"ly adverb In a stern manner.

Sternmost Stern"most` adjective Farthest in the rear; farthest astern; as, the sternmost ship in a convoy.

Sternness Stern"ness noun The quality or state of being stern.

Sterno- Ster"no- A combining form used in anatomy to indicate connection with , or relation to , the sternum ; as, sterno costal, sterno scapular.

Sternocoracoid Ster`no·cor"a·coid adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the coracoid.

Sternocostal Ster`no·cos"tal adjective [ Sterno- + costal .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the ribs; as, the sternocostal cartilages.

Sternohyoid Ster`no·hy"oid adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the hyoid bone or cartilage.

Sternomastoid Ster`no·mas"toid adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the mastoid process.

Sternothyroid Ster`no·thy"roid adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sternum and the thyroid cartilage.

Sternpost Stern"post` noun (Nautical) A straight piece of timber, or an iron bar or beam, erected on the extremity of the keel to support the rudder, and receive the ends of the planks or plates of the vessel.

Sternsman Sterns"man noun A steersman. [ Obsolete]

Sternson Stern"son noun [ See Stern , noun , and confer Stemson .] (Nautical) The end of a ship's keelson, to which the sternpost is bolted; -- called also stern knee .

Sternum Ster"num noun ; plural Latin Sterna , English Sternums . [ New Latin , from Greek ..., the breast, chest.] 1. (Anat.) A plate of cartilage, or a series of bony or cartilaginous plates or segments, in the median line of the pectoral skeleton of most vertebrates above fishes; the breastbone.

» The sternum is connected with the ribs or the pectorial girdle, or with both. In man it is a flat bone, broad anteriorly, narrowed behind, and connected with the clavicles and the cartilages of the seven anterior pairs of ribs. In most birds it has a high median keel for the attachment of the muscles of the wings.

2. (Zoology) The ventral part of any one of the somites of an arthropod.

Sternutation Ster`nu·ta"tion noun [ Latin sternutatio , from sternutare to sneeze, intens. from sternuere .] The act of sneezing. Quincy.

Sternutative Ster·nu"ta·tive adjective Having the quality of provoking to sneeze.

Sternutatory Ster·nu"ta·to·ry adjective Sternutative. -- noun A sternutatory substance or medicine.

Sternway Stern"way` noun (Nautical) The movement of a ship backward, or with her stern foremost.

Sterquilinous Ster·quil"i·nous adjective [ Latin sterquilinium a dung pit, from stercus dung.] Pertaining to a dunghill; hence, mean; dirty; paltry. [ Obsolete] Howell.

Sterre Ster"re noun A star. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Sterrink Ster"rink noun (Zoology) The crab-eating seal ( Lobodon carcinophaga ) of the Antarctic Ocean.

Sterrometal Ster"ro·met`al noun [ Greek ... firm, solid + English metal .] Any alloy of copper, zinc, tin, and iron, of which cannon are sometimes made.

Stert Stert obsolete past participle of Start . Started. Chaucer.

Sterte Ster"te obsolete past participle of Start . Chaucer.

Stertorious Ster·to"ri·ous (stẽr*tō"rĭ*ŭs) adjective Stertorous. [ R.]

Stertorous Ster"to·rous (stẽr"to*rŭs) adjective [ Latin stertere to snore: confer French stertoreux .] Characterized by a deep snoring, which accompanies inspiration in some diseases, especially apoplexy; hence, hoarsely breathing; snoring.

Burning, stertorous breath that hurt her cheek.

Mrs. Browning.

The day has ebbed away, and it is night in his room, before his stertorous breathing lulls.

Dickens.

Sterve Sterve (stẽrv) transitive verb & i. To die, or cause to die; to perish. See Starve . [ Obsolete] Chaucer. Spenser.

Stet Stet (stĕt), Latin , subjunctive 3d pers. sing. of stare to stand, remain. [ See Stand .] (Print.) Let it stand; -- a word used by proof readers to signify that something once erased, or marked for omission, is to remain.

Stet Stet transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Stetted ; present participle & verbal noun Stetting .] (Print.) To cause or direct to remain after having been marked for omission; to mark with the word stet , or with a series of dots below or beside the matter; as, the proof reader stetted a deled footnote.

Stethal Steth"al noun [ Ste aric + ethal .] (Chemistry) One of the higher alcohols of the methane series, homologous with ethal, and found in small quantities as an ethereal salt of stearic acid in spermaceti.

Stethograph Steth"o·graph noun [ Greek ... the breast + -graph .] (Physiol.) See Pneumatograph .

Stethometer Ste·thom"e·ter noun [ Greek ... chest + -meter .] (Physiol.) An apparatus for measuring the external movements of a given point of the chest wall, during respiration; -- also called thoracometer .

Stethoscope Steth"o·scope (stĕth"o*skōp) noun [ Greek sth^qos the breast + - scope : confer French stéthoscope .] (Medicine) An instrument used in auscultation for examining the organs of the chest, as the heart and lungs, by conveying to the ear of the examiner the sounds produced in the thorax.

Stethoscope Steth"o·scope transitive verb To auscultate, or examine, with a stethoscope. M. W. Savage.

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