Wolsey sat at the stem more than twenty years.
Fuller.
7. Anything resembling a stem or stalk; as, the stem of a tobacco pipe;
the stem of a watch case, or that part to which the ring, by which it
is suspended, is attached.
8. (Bot.) That part of a plant which bears leaves, or rudiments of
leaves, whether rising above ground or wholly subterranean.
9. (Zoöl.) (a) The entire central axis of a feather. (b) The basal
portion of the body of one of the Pennatulacea, or of a gorgonian.
10. (Mus.) The short perpendicular line added to the body of a note;
the tail of a crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, etc.
11. (Gram.) The part of an inflected word which remains unchanged
(except by euphonic variations) throughout a given inflection; theme;
base.
From stem to stern (Naut.), from one end of the ship to the other, or
through the whole length. -- Stem leaf (Bot.), a leaf growing from the
stem of a plant, as contrasted with a basal or radical leaf.
Stem, v. t. 1. To remove the stem or stems from; as, to stem cherries;
to remove the stem and its appendages (ribs and veins) from; as, to
stem tobacco leaves.