Sterlet, stėr′let, n. a small sturgeon.
Sterling, stėr′ling, adj. a designation of British money—pure, genuine, of good quality—also generally, of value or excellence, authoritative. [Orig. the name of a penny; prob. from the Hanse merchants or Easterlings ('men from the east'), from North Germany, who had probably the privilege of coining money in England in the 13th century.]
Stern, stėrn, adj. severe of countenance, manner, or feeling: austere: harsh: unrelenting: steadfast.—adv. Stern′ly.—n. Stern′ness. [A.S. styrne.]
Stern, stėrn, n. the hind-part of a vessel: the rump or tail of an animal.—v.t. to back a boat, to row backward.—ns. Stern′age (Shak.), the steerage or stern of a ship; Stern′board, backward motion of a ship: loss of way in tacking; Stern′-chase, a chase in which one ship follows directly in the wake of another; Stern′-chās′er, a cannon in the stern of a ship.—adj. Sterned, having a stern of a specified kind.—ns. Stern′-fast, a rope or chain for making fast a ship's stern to a wharf, &c.; Stern′-frame, the sternpost, transoms, and fashion-pieces of a ship's stern.—adj. Stern′most, farthest astern.—ns. Stern′port, a port or opening in the stern of a ship; Stern′post, the aftermost timber of a ship which supports the rudder; Stern′sheets, the part of a boat between the stern and the rowers; Stern′son, the hinder extremity of a ship's keelson, to which the sternpost is bolted; Stern′way, the backward motion of a vessel; Stern′-wheel′er (U.S.), a small vessel with one large paddle-wheel at the stern. [Ice. stjórn, a steering.]
Sternum, stėr′num, n. the breast-bone.—adj. Ster′nal.—n. Sternal′gia, pain about the breast-bone, esp. angina pectoris.—adjs. Sternal′gic; Ster′nebral, pertaining to the Ster′nebra or serial segments of which the sternum of a vertebrate is composed.—n. Ster′nite, the ventral portion of the somite of an arthropod.—adjs. Sternit′ic; Sternocost′al, pertaining to, or connected with, the sternum and ribs: denoting those ribs and muscles attached to the sternum. [Gr. sternon, chest.]
Sternutation, stėr-nū-tā′shun, n. the act of sneezing.—adjs. Sternū′tātive, Sternū′tatory, that causes sneezing.—n. a substance that causes sneezing. [L. sternutatio—sternutāre, -ātum, inten. of sternuĕre, -utum, to sneeze.]
Stertorous, stėr′tō-rus, adj. snoring.—adv. Ster′torously.—n. Ster′torousness. [L. stertĕre, to snore.]
Sterve, stėrv, v.i. (Spens.) to starve, to die.—Also Ster′ven.
Stet, stet, v.t. to restore—generally on proof-sheets, in imperative, with a line of dots under the words to be retained. [L., 'let it stand,' 3d sing. pres. subj. of stāre, to stand.]
Stethiæum, steth-i-ē′um, n. the anterior half of a bird—opp. to Uræum.—n. Stethid′ium, in insects, the thorax. [Gr., stēthos, the breast.]