steepness 
steepness (step'nes), . The state of being 
steep, in any sense ; precipitousness : as, the 
xteepiiexx of a hill or a roof. 
steep-to (sti-p'tii), ii. Abruptly steep: noting 
a bold shore having navigable water close in 
to land. [Colloq.] 
The pans (pan-ice] rise over all the low lying parts of 
the Islands, grinding and polishing exposed shores, and 
rasping those that are rtttp-to. Amer. Nat. , XXII. 230. 
steep-tub (step'tub), n. A tub in which salt 
beef and salt pork are soaked before cooking, 
steep-up (istep'up), ti. Ascending steeply. 
Her stand she takes upon a steep-up hill. 
Shale., Passionate Pilgrim, 1. 121. 
Steep-water (step'wa"ter), n. Water used as 
a steep, or suitable for steeping; specifically, 
a steep for flax. 
The most celebrated steep-water in the world is the river 
Lys, which rises in the north of France, and flows through 
the west of Belgium. Urt, Diet., II. 409. 
steepweed, steepwort (step 'wed, -wert), . 
Same as steep-grans. 
steepy (ste'pi), a. [< stecpl + -yi.] Steep; 
precipitous. 
Ever to rear his tumbling Btone upright 
Upon the steepy mountain's lofty height. 
Marston, Satires, v. 78. 
Steer 1 (ster), v. [< ME. steeren, steren, stiren, 
sturen, stcoren, < AS. steoran, stieran, styran = 
OFries. stiura, stiora = MD. stuyren, stiieren, 
stieren, D. st/iren, stieren = MLG. sturen, LG. 
stieren = OHG. stiuran, stinrran, MHG. stiuren, 
stiuireru, direct, control, support, G. steuern, 
control, steer, pilot, = Icel. styra = Dan. styre 
= Sw. styra, steer; cf. Goth, stiurjan, establish, 
confinn ; partly from the noun, AS. steor, etc., 
a rudder (see steer 1 , n.), but in part, as more 
5926 
He relieved her of her burden, ami steered along the 
street by her side, carrying her bilked mutton and pota- 
toes safely home. )lrt. (jaskell, franford, ii. 
To steer clear of, to keep away from ; avoid. 
It requires great skill, and ;i particular felicity, to steer 
clear <ifScylla and Charybdis. 
Bacon, Physical Fables, vi., Expl. 
To steer roomer. See roomi, ado. To steer small, 
to steer with little movement of the helm, and conse- hence, a place of government or control 
nllAnMv with hnt allo-Hf ilAwlaCInn nt tha attfn'a hujl * r & V*M*W \ji wuwvi. 
steersman 
He bore his steerage true in every part, 
Led by the compass of a noble heart. 
Webster and Itmrley, Cure for a Cuckold, iv. 2. 
Let our Governors beware in time, lest . . . they ship 
wrin-k tin mselves, as others have don before them in the 
cours wherin (!od was dirrecting the Steerage to a Free 
( 'iMiimonwealth. Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
5. A rudder; a helm; apparatus for steering ; 
, - 
quently with but slight deviation of the ship's head from 
tin' intoned course. To steer with a small helm, 
to keep the course accurately, with but slight shifting of 
the helm in either direction. 
This day the William was hald a ground, because she 
was somewhat leake, and to mend her xteerage. 
IlaMuyt's Voyage*, I. 446. 
While they who ;it the xteerage stood 
And reap'd the profit sought his blood. 
Swift, Death of Dr. Swift. 
Steer 1 (ster), n. [< ME. stern; xtn-i; xter. . 
< AS. steor = MD. stuer, stier, D. stuur = MLG. 
utiir, stttre, LG. stftr = OHG. stiura, f. , MHG. sti- 
iire, stiuwer, G. steitrr, n., = !<<!. x/ijri = Sw. 
Dan. styr, a rudder, a steering-oar, prob. orig. a 
pole (applied to a steering-oar); cf. Icel. utaiiri: 
a post, stake, = Or. aravp6f, a pole, stake, cross 
(seestanru.i): seestreri, r.,andcf. steer"*. Hence 7. In passenger-ships, the part of the ship al- 
ult. stern 2 .'] If. A rudder; a helm. lotted to the passengers who travel at the 
With a wawe [wave] brosten was his stere. cheapest rate, hence called steerage passengers : 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2416. generally, except in the newest type of passen- 
6f. The part of a ship where the tiller traverses ; 
the stern. 
I was much surprized, and ran into the steeridge to look 
on the compass. Damjiitr, Voyages, an. 1688. 
2f. A helmsman; a pilot. 
He that is lord of fortune be thy stere 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 350. 
3f. A guide; a director; a governor; a ruler. 
My lady dere, 
Syn God hath wroght me for I shal yow serve, 
As thus I mene ye wol yet be my stere 
To do me lyve, if that yow list, or sterve. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 1291. 
Commodity is the steer of all their actions. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 198. 
ger-steamers, not in the stern, as might be 
supposed, but in the bow; in a man-of-war, the 
part of the berth-deck just forward of the ward- 
room: it is generally divided into two apart- 
ments, one on each side, called the starboard 
and port steerages, which are assigned to mid- 
shipmen, clerks, and others. 
It being necessary for me to observe strict economy I 
took my passage in the steerage. 
Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit. xvii. 
Steerage country (naut.). See country. 
4f. Guidance; direction; government; control. Steerageway (ster'aj-wa), n. A'aut., that de- 
For whanne I my lady here, 8?* e of forward movement or headway of a 
My wit with that hath Yoste his stere. ship which renders her subject to the helm. 
particularly appears in the Gotli., prob. an Gouvr, Conf. Amant., 1. steerer (ster'er), n. [<(eerl + -erl.] 1. One 
orig. verb, 'establish ' (hence 'direct,' ' steer'), To ? ive one a steer, to give one a useful hint; give one who or that which steers; a steersman. 
n /,T,r> Qn fori ,.,:*!, riTin <;,._: i -, a point or tip. [Slang, I 1 "' 
(ster), n. [< 
vug. o*/, omvi/u i \ucijut; uuvoi) Hlccr ), 
connected witli OHG. stiuri, strong, large ; cf. 
Goth, usstiuriba, unbridled, Skt. sthaeara, fixed, 
t 
steer, ster, steor, < AS. 
iirect and govern, as a ship on her course. 
The two brether were abidyng bothe in a shippe 
That was itird with the storme streght out of warde ; 
Rut on a Rocke, rof all to peces. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.X 1. 3709. 
You yourself shall steer the happy helm. 
Shot., 2 Hen. VI., i. 3. 103. 
: --' And I will be the steerer o 't, 
To row you o'er the sea. 
Young JJelcif (Child's Ballads, IV. IS). 
2. In a tricycle, the rod and small wheel by 
which the machine is turned about and guided: 
called front steerer or back steerer according 
to its place on the machine. 3. In bunko 
B ,, , -, w , - - swindling, one who steers or leads his victim to 
Russ. turu = W. tarw = Ir. Gael, tarbh, a bull, the rendezvous; a bunko-steerer. [Slang 1- 
HG. stun, stiuri, strong, Boat-steerer, in whaling, the second man in rank in a 
= Sw. tjur = Dan. tyr, a steer; cf. L. taunts (> 
It. Sp. torn = Pg. totiro = F. dim. taureau), < 
Gr. ravpof = OBulg. titru = Bohem. Pol. tur = 
No merchant wittingly 
Has steered his keel unto this luckless sea. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 399. 
2. To pursue in a specified direction ; direct : 
as, to steer one's way or course. 
Then with expanded wings he steers his flight 
Aloft, incumbent on the dusky air. 
Milton, P. L., i. 225. 
3. To guide; manage; control; govern. 
Fyr so wood, it mighte nat be stered, 
In al the noble tour of Ilioun. 
Chaiuxr, Good Women, I. 936. 
I have a soul 
Is full of grateful duty, nor will suffer me 
Further dispute your precept ; you have power 
To steer me as you please. 
Shirley, Bird in a Cage, i. 1. 
4f. To plan ; contrive. 
Trewely, myn owene lady deere 
Tho sleighte, yit that I have herd yow steere, 
Ful shapely ben to faylen alle yfeere. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii 1451 Steer- 5 (ster), r. and H. 
6. To lead; conduct; draw: as, a bunko-man 
steers his victim to a bunko-joint. See bunko- 
steerer. - steering balloon. See ballooni . Steering 
Committee, a small body of men, generally members of 
a legislative body, engaged in directing the course of legis- 
steer*, ult. from the same root; cf. also stirk, 
and Taurus.] A young male of the ox kind; 
a bullock, especially one which has been cas- . 
trated and is raised for beef. In the United Steering-compass (ster'ing-kum'pas), w. 
States the term is extended to male beef-cattle m P asg 
of any age. 
officer. The duties of the boat steerer, or harpooner or 
slewer as he is also called, are the most important in- 
trusted to the crew. 
See 
Steering-gear (ster 'ing- ger), n. Nmtl., the 
Juvencusisayongeoxewhanheisnoleugeracalf.and S""*"? bv which . the ">dder is managed, 
he is then callyd a steere whan he begynneth to be help- 
full unto the profit of man in eringe the erth. 
Dialogues of Creatures Moralysed, p. 228. (Hattiwett.) 
Laocoon . . 
With solemn pomp then sacrificed a steer. 
In large ships steam-power has come Into very general use 
for this purpose a wheel, turned by the helmsman in the 
same manner as when steering by hand, by its action ad- 
mitting steam to the engines which move the helm. 
Steering-sail (ster'ing-sal), . Same as stud- 
Steer2 (ster), . t. [< steer*, .]*"' To^'make 2 ^ s teering-wheel (ster'ing-hwel), w. 
steer of; castrate (a young bull or bull-calf). 
[Hare.] 
The male calves are steered and converted to beef 
Daily Telegraph, Oct. 18, 1888. (Encyc. Diet.) 
Varlant 
An obsolete or dialectal 
What's a' the steer, kimmer? 
What's a' the steer' 
Charlie he is landed, 
An, haith, he'll soon be here. 
-- - -._. steerable (ster'a-bl), . [< 
II. tntrans. 1. To direct and govern a vessel Capable of being steered: as. a steerable bal- 
m its course. loon. 
Jason ... the bote tok, 
Stird ouer the streame streght to the lond 
Dettruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 957. 
Some of their men were starued, the rest all so weake 
that onely one could lie along vpon the Helm and stem. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 745. 
2 To direct one's course at sea ; sail in a spe- 
cified direction: as, the ship steers southward- 
he steered for Liverpool. 
The Ottomites, . . . 
Steering . . . towards the isle of Rhodes 
Have there injointed them with an after fleet. 
Shale., Othello, i. 3. 34. 
3 To answer the helm : as, the vessel steers 
with ease. 4. Figuratively, to take or pursue 
a course or way ; hence, to direct one's conduct ; 
conduct one's self. 
_ , , ... The wheel 
by which the rudder of a ship is shifted and the 
ship steered. 
Steer least (ster'les), a. [< ME. sieretes, < AS. 
stedrleas, having no rudder, < steor, a rudder, 
+ -leas, E. -less; < steer 1 -, n., + -less.] Having 
no rudder. 
Al stereless withinue a boot am I. 
Chaucer, Troilus, i. 416. 
Like to the steerless boat that swerves with every wind. 
Surrey, Eccl. iii. 
Jacobite song. Steerling (ster'ling), H. [< steer* + -ling*.] A 
+ -able.] young steer. 
To get thy steerling, once again 
I'le play such another strain. 
Herriclr, A Beucolick, or Discourse of Neatherds. 
Steerage (ster'aj), . [Early mod. E. also steer- :olick> or Disc l 
idge, stirrage; < steer* + -age.] 1. The act, Steermant (ster'man), . [< ME. sterman, steor- 
Well-born, and wealthy, wanting no support 
You steer betwixt the country and the court 
Dryden, To his kinsman, John Dryden, ] 
128. 
practice, or method of steering; guidance; di- 
rection ; control ; specifically, the direction or 
control of a ship in her course. 
By reason of the euil stirrage of the other ship we had 
almost boorded each other. UaUuut's Voyages, II. no. 
But He that hath the steerage of my course 
Direct my sail ! Shak., R, and J., i. 4. 112. 
2. That by which a course is steered or di- 
rected. [Rare.] 
Inscribed to Phoebus, here he hung on high 
The steerage [remigium] of his wings. 
Dryden, Xneid, vi. 24. 
3. Nant., the effect of the helm on a ship; the 
manner in which the ship is affected by the 
helm: as, she was going nine knots, with easy 
steerage. 4. A course steered : a pat' 
a course of conduct, or a way of life. 
man, < AS. steorman (= D. stuurman = MLG. 
sturman, stureman = MHG.stiurman,G.steuer- 
mann, steersman, = Icel. styrimathr, stjornar- 
mathr = Sw. styrman = ~Da.n.styrmand, a mate), 
< stedr, rudder, + man, man: see steer 1 and 
man.] Same as steersman. 
Their Star the Bible ; Steer-man th' Holy-Ghost. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du liartas's Weeks, i. 1. 
steersman (sterz'man), H. ; pi. steersmen (-men). 
[< ME. steresntan, < AS. steoresman , steersman, 
< ste6res, gen. of stedr, a rudder, + man, man.] 
One who steers, (o) The steerer of a boat ; a helms- 
man ; a pilot. 
How the tempest al began, 
And how he lost his gteresman. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, I. 436. 
Through it the Joyful steersman clears his way, 
And conies to anchor in his inmost bay. Dryden. 
