stern 
stern- stern,, . [< ME. stcnii, strumi; xtcorm 
(not found in AS., where only xtcdr, a rudder, 
Appears: see steer 1 , n. ) = OFries. xtinnn; uliiirin-. 
A rudder, = Icel. stjorn, a steering, Ktecrn^c, 
rudder ; with formative -, from the root of AS. 
xli-iir, K. xtrrr, etc., a rudder: see steer' 1 , . and 
r.] If. The rudder or helm of a vessel. 
gif he ne rise tlie rather and rauhte to the uteonie, 
The wynt wolde with the water the liot ouer-throwe. 
Pien Plouinan (A), ix. 30. 
But to preserve the people and the land, 
Which now remain as shippe without a tterne. 
Norton and Sackeille, Ferreit and Porrex, v. 2. 
2f. Hence, figuratively, any instrument of man- 
agement or direction ; a guiding agent or agency ; 
also, a post of direction or control. 
The father held the sterne of his whole obedience. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 48. 
Not a few of them [the eunuchs] have come to sit at the 
stern of State. Sandys, Travalles, p. 55. 
3. The hinder part of a ship or boat, where the 
rudder is placed; the part furthest removed 
such as 8. minuta of Europe and .S'. antillarwn. of Amer- 
ica, are called leant term, and all have a white frontal 
crescent in the black cap : these represent a aubgc-nns 
Lower part of Ship's Stern. 
i", stem-post ; KS, keelson ; K, keel ; DT, dovetail-plates ; /. inner 
stern-post ; n, deadwood ; DK, deadwood-knee ; 55, stemson ; T, 
deck -transom ; /', false keel. (The dotted lines show bolts.) 
from the stem or prow. See also cut under 
poop. 
So, when the flrst bold vessel dared the seas, 
High on the stern the Thracian raised his strain. 
Pope, Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, 1. 39. 
4. The hinder parts, backside, buttocks, or 
rump; the tail of an animal. 
He [the dragon] . . . gan his sturdy sterne about to weld, 
And him so strongly stroke that to the ground him feld. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. xi. 28. 
We don't want to deceive ourselves about them, or fancy 
them cherubs without sterns. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. 8., extra ser.), Forewords, 
[p. xxiil. 
By the stern. See byl. False Stem, an addition made 
to the stern of a vessel for strength or protection. From 
stem to stern. See items. Square stern, a stern less 
rounded or elliptical than is usual. Stern foremost, 
backside foremost ; with the stern advanced. Stern on, 
the position of a vessel when her stern is presented to- 
ward the observer. TO make a stern board. See 
board. To moor head and stern. See moor?. 
stern 2 (stern), v. [(stenft, .] I. (TOM. If. To 
steer; guide. 
Hulke tower ... is a notable inarke for pilots, in di- 
recting them which waie to gterne their ships, and to 
eschew the danger of the craggie rocks. 
Stanihttrst, Descrip. of Ireland, iii. (Holinshed.) 
2. To back (a boat) with the oars; backwater; 
row backward stern all! stern hard! orders to 
back water given by the officer of a boat to the crew. 
Also simply stern ! 
II. intrans. To draw back; backwater: said 
of a boat or its crew. 
Meantime Mr. Norton, the mate, having struck the fast 
whale, he and the second mate sterned off to wait for the 
whale to get quiet. Fisheries of U. S., V. ii. 273. 
Stern 3 (stern), . Same as starn 1 . 
stern 4 (stern), 11. [A var. of tern : see tern, and 
cf. Sterna.'] A tern. 
Sterna(ster'na),x. [NL.(Linnasus,1758),appar. 
based on E. tern.] A Linnean genus of Laridse, 
typical of the subfamily Sterninae, and contain- 
ing all the terns or sea-swallows, or variously re- 
stricted. It is now commonly confined to species of mod- 
erate and large size, white with usually a pearly-blue man tie 
and black cap, and having a long deeply-forked tail, whose 
outer feathers are more or less narrowly linear for much of 
their length. The species are numerous, and are found all 
over the world, as S. hirundo, the common tern of Europe 
and America ; S. arctica, the arctic tern of the northern 
hemisphere ; S. paradisea or dougaUi, the roseate tern 
(see cut under roseate), very widely distributed ; and S. for- 
uteri and S. trudeaui of America. Among the large species, 
representing a subgenus Thalasseus, are S. tschegrava or 
caspia, the Caspian tern of Asia, Europe, and America ; S. 
maxima, the royal tern (smaller than the last, in spite of 
its name) of America ; S. elegans, the ducal tern of Amer- 
ica. (See cut under Thalasseus.) A groupof small species, 
373 
(Sterna hiruniio). 
titfrmda. (See cut under Stemula.) Some middle-sized 
terns with dark upper parts, widely distributed in tropi- 
cal and warm temperate regions, are the subgenua Hali- 
ptana, as the common sooty and bridled terns, S.fuKgi- 
nosa, and S. anaesthetica. (See cut under sooty.) Gull- 
billed terns form a section Oelochelidon (see cut there). 
The wholly white terns, the black terns, and the noddies 
belong to other genera. See Stentinee and tern. 
sternadiform (ster'na-di-form), a. [< NL. ster- 
num, the breast-bone, + L. ad, to, + forma, 
form.] In ichth., characterized by a tendency 
to expansion or extension of the thoracic or 
sternal region, as exemplified in the John-dory 
and the Serranidx. Gill. 
sternage(ster'naj), . [< stern"* + -age.] Steer- 
age ; direction ; course, as of a ship or fleet. 
Follow, follow : 
Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy. 
And leave your England, as dead midnight still. 
Shak., Hen. V., iii. Prol., 1. 18. 
sternal (ster'nal), a. [= P. sternal, < NL. ster- 
nalis, < sternum, the breast-bone : see sternum.'} 
1 . Of or pertaining to the sternum, especially 
the breast-bone of vertebrates: as, the sternal 
end of the clavicle ; the sternal keel of a bird's 
breast-bone ; sternal articulation ; a sternal 
segment. 2. In Invertebrnta, of or pertaining 
to a sternite; sternitic. 3. Ventral; hemal; 
on the ventral surface or aspect, where the 
sternum is situated ; on the same side with the 
sternum; in man, anterior; in other animals, 
inferior: opposed to dorsal, tergal, or neural. 
Sternal band, in embryol., of insects, a longitudinal 
thickening of the ovum, which gives rise to the sternal 
region of the body. Sternal canal, in Crustacea, ame- 
dian passage between each pair of endosternites, arched 
over by the meeting of the mesophragmal apophyses of 
the apodemes of opposite sides. The sternal canal con- 
veys the chain of nervous ganglia and the sternal artery. 
See cut under Astacidfs. Sternal glands, a chain of six 
to ten small lymphatic glands, situated along the course of 
the internal mammary blood-vessels. Sternal line, the 
vertical line on the front of the chest lying over the edge of 
the sternum. Sternal region, the region of the front of 
the chest lying between the sternal lines. It is divided into 
a superior and an inferior sternal region by a line passing 
through the uppermost points of the junctions of the third 
costal cartilages with the sternum. Sternal rib. (a) A 
true or fixed rib ; one that joins the sternum by its hema- 
pophysis, or costal cartilage, as distinguished from a false 
rib. See cut under endosketeton. (b) The hemapophysis 
of a rib, as distinguished from the pleurapophysis ; that 
part of a bony jointed rib answering to the costal carti- 
lage of a mammalian rib, reaching from the end of the 
pleurapophysis to the sternum or toward it, as distin- 
guished from a vertebral rib, which is the pleurapophy- 
sis alone. See cuts under epipteura and interclamae. 
Stemalgia (ster-nal'ji-a), n. [NL., < Or. arep- 
vav, the breast-bone, + a/.yof, pain.] 1. Pain 
about the sternum or breast-bone. 2. Specif- 
ically, angina pectoris. See angina. 
sternalgic (ster-nal' jik), a. [< sternalgia + -ie.] 
Pertaining to or affected with sternalgia ; es- 
pecially, affected with angina pectoris. 
sternalis (ster-na'lis), n. ; pi. sternales (-lez). 
[NL., sc. muscuhis, muscle: see sternal."] A 
sternal or presternal muscle; specifically, the 
rectus sternalis of various animals, more ex- 
pressly called sternalis bmtorum and rectus 
thoracicus superficialis. It is not infrequently 
present in man. 
Sternaspida (ster-nas'pi-da), n.pl. [NL., irreg. 
< Sternaspis (-aspid-) + -idd. ] An order of gephy- 
reans, represented by the genus Sternaspis : dis- 
tinguished from an order Echiurina, both being 
referred to a subclass Echiuromorpha of the 
class Gephyrea. Compare Echiuroidea. 
Sternbergi'a (stern-ber'ji-a), w. [NL. (Wald- 
stein and Kitaibel, 1805), named after Count 
Kaspar Maria von Sternberg, 1761-1838, author 
of various botanical and paleontological works.] 
A genus of monocotyledon ous plants, of the or- 
der Amaryllidacex and tribe Amaryllex. It is char- 
acterized by a commonly solitary funnel-shaped perianth 
without a corona and with somewhat spreading lobes, and 
by a fleshy nearly indehiscent fruit with roundish and 
Sterninae 
often strophiolate seeds. About 12 species have been 
described, now by *ome redneed to 5, all native of Europe 
and the M editerntnt-an region. They produce a short flow- 
IT --tnlk from ;i co;ite<i liulli, with leaves at the same time 
or earlier, .s'. tuti'ti :iM'l sf\'T:i] other dwarf species with 
handsome yellow (lowers are cultivated under the name 
of ttar-Jltnver. S. lutea is also known as winter daffodil, 
and S. j-Ktiietisitt as M<>"/tl I'.liui lily ; these are often sold 
tinder the name of amaryllis. 
sternbergite (steni'berk'-it). . [Xamed after 
Count K. M. von Sli mli, r/j .- see X/irnlirri/ia.] 
An ore of silver, a sulphid of silver and iron, 
having a pinchbeck-brown color and metallic 
luster. It occurs foliated, the laminte being 
soft and flexible. It leaves a mark on paper 
like that of graphite. 
stern-board (stern'bord), n. Naut., a back- 
ward motion of a vessel. See to make a xti-m 
luiiiril, under hnnnl. 
stem-cap (stern 'kap), ii. An iron cap to pro- 
tect the stern of a boat. 
stern-chase (stern'chas), . A chase in which 
two vessels sail on one and the same course, 
one following in the wake of the other: as, a 
stern-chase is a long chase. 
Stern-chaser (stern'cha'ser), . A cannon 
placed in a ship's stern, pointing backward, 
and intended to annoy a ship that is in pursuit. 
Sterneae (st6r'ne-e), n. pi. [NL., < Sterna + 
-ess.] A subdivision of Sternin/e, containing all 
the sea-swallows with forked tails and emargi- 
nate webs, as distinguished from the Anoete or 
noddies; the typical terns. Coues, 1862. 
Sterneber (ster'ne-ber), n. [< NL. sternebra, < 
sternum + (vert)ebra.] One of the pieces of 
which the breast-bone of a vertebrate usually 
consists; a bony segment of the sternum; a 
sternite, or sternebral element. The sternum is a 
serially segmented bone, made up of pieces, primitively 
separate bones, corresponding to pairs of ribs, every one of 
which is a sterneber. Thus, in man the manubrium sterni 
and the xiphoid or ensiform cartilage are each a sterne- 
ber; andthegladiolus, the middle part of the breast-bone, 
is composed of four other Bternebers. 
sternebral (ster'ne-bral), a. [< sterneber + 
-al.] Entering into the composition of the 
breast-bone ; of or pertaining to a sterneber. 
Sterned 1 (sternd), a. [< stern 2 + -e<fA] Hav- 
ing a stern (of a specified character). Chap- 
man, Iliad, xi. 
Sterned 2 ! (sternd), a. [ME., < stern + -erf2.] 
Starred ; starry. Hampole, Prick of Conscience. 
sternert (ster ner), . [< stern 2 + -er 1 .] A 
steersman ; a guide or director. [Rare.] 
He that is " regens sldera," the sterner of the stars. 
Dr. Clarke, Sermons (1637), p. 15. (Latham.) 
Stern-fast (stern'f ast), n. A rope or chain used 
to confine the stern of a ship or other vessel to 
a wharf or quay. 
stern-frame (stern'fram), M. The several pieces 
of timber or iron which form the stern of a ship 
the stern-post, transoms, and fashion-pieces, 
sternfullyt (stern'ful-i), adv. [< *sternful (ir- 
reg. <gtern + -ful) + -ly 2 .] Sternly. Stanihurst, 
Conceites. [Bare.] 
stern-gallery (stern'gal"e-ri), . Naut. See 
gallery, 9. 
Stern-hook (stern'huk), . In ship-building, a 
curved timber built into the stern of a ship to 
support the stem-frame. 
Sternidae (ster'ni-de), n.pl. [NL., < Sterna + 
-Ma?.] The Sternina rated as a family apart 
from Laridse. 
Sternidius (ster-nid'i-us), . 
1873).] A genus of longi- 
corn beetles, of the family 
Cerambycidx, equivalent to 
Liopits (Leiopus of Serville, 
1835). 5. acvliferus is a com- 
mon North American species now 
placed in Leplastylus. Its larva 
burrows under the bark of various 
trees. 
sterniform (ster'ui-f6rm), 
a. [< NL. sternum, the breast-bone. + Ii.forma, 
form.] In entom., having the form or appear- 
ance of a thoracic sternum Sterniform pro- 
cess or horn, an anterior projection of the .first ventral 
segment of the abdomen, between the bases of the pos- 
terior legs: it Is more commonly called the intercoxal 
process. 
Sterninae (ster-ni'ne), . /)/. [NL., < Sterna + 
-inee.} A subfamily of Laridfe, typified by the 
genus Sterna, containing all the terns or sea- 
swallows. It differs from Lariiue in the average smaller 
size, slenderer form, relatively longer wings and tail, the 
forking of the tail, the small feet, and the slender sharp 
bill. The bill is paragnathous (not epignathous as Is usual 
In Larinee), with continuous horny covering, usually long 
and slender, very sharp, with straight commissure or near- 
ly so, gently curved culmen, long gonys, and slight syru- 
physeal eminence. The wings are extremely long, narrow, 
[NL. (Le Conte, 
Sternutius afultjtnts. 
