stew
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /stʃʉː/
ipa: /stjuː/
ipa: /stʃuː/
enpr: sto͞o
ipa: /stu/
rhymes: -uː
homophone: stu
homophone: Stew
homophone: Stu
Forms: form: stews
Etymology: From Middle English stewe, stue, from Anglo-Norman estouve, Old French estuve (“bath, bathhouse”) (modern French étuve), from Medieval Latin stupha, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *extufāre, from ex- + Ancient Greek τῦφος (tûphos, “smoke, steam”), from τύφω (túphō, “to smoke”). See also Italian stufare, Portuguese estufar. Compare also Old English stuf-bæþ (“a hot-air bath, vapour bath”); see stove.
Senses: glosses: A cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.
examples: text: And when he came to the chamber there as this lady was the dores of yron vnlocked and vnbolted / And so syr launcelot wente in to the chambre that was as hote as ony stewe / And there syr launcelot toke the fayrest lady by the hand / that euer he sawe / and she was naked as a nedel
And when he came to the chamber thereas this lady was, the doors of iron unlocked and unbolted. And so Sir Launcelot went into the chamber that was as hot as any stew. And there Sir Launcelot took the fairest lady by the hand that ever he saw, and she was naked as a needle
ref: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI:
glosses: A heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath.
examples: text: [...] and the agrieved person shall doe more manly, to be extraordinary and singular in claiming the due right whereof he is frustrated, then to piece up his lost contentment by visiting the Stews, or stepping to his neighbours bed, which is the common shift in this mis-fortune, or els by suffering his usefull life to wast away and be lost under a secret affliction of an unconscionable size to humane strength.
ref: 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:
text: And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews.
ref: 1681, John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel:
text: Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews.
ref: 1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh:
text: Although whores were permitted to sit at the door of the stew, they could not solicit in any way nor ‘chide or throw stones’ at passers-by.
ref: 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 37:
glosses: A brothel.
examples: text: But it was so plotted betwixt the Lady, her Husband, and Bristol, that instead of that beauty, he had a notorious Stew sent him, and surely his carriage there was so lascivious...
ref: 1650, Anthony Weldon, The Court and Character of King James I:
glosses: A prostitute.
examples: text: I noticed then that there was nothing to drink on the table but brandy, and nothing to eat but salted herrings, and a hot, sickly, highly peppered stew.
ref: 1870, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Wordsworth Classics, published 1998, page 367:
glosses: A dish cooked by stewing.
examples: text: It was used as a stew, so that the inhabitants of the castle could have fish on Fridays, and for this reason the architects had been careful not to let the drains and sewers run into it. It was stocked with fish every year.
ref: 1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter V, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, book I (The Sword in the Stone):
synonyms: stewpond
qualifier: Sussex
glosses: A pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating.
glosses: An artificial bed of oysters.
examples: text: to be in a stew
glosses: A state of agitated excitement, worry, or confusion.
examples: text: mike stew
topics: broadcasting
media
glosses: Unwanted background noise recorded by the microphone.
Synonyms: topics: food
lifestyle
word: casserole
word: hotpot
Coordinate terms: casserole
cassoulet
goulash
ragout
Derived terms: beef stew
brown stew
brown stew chicken
Brunswick stew
cowboy stew
cream stew
Devonshire stew
Exeter stew
Frogmore stew
graveyard stew
hobo stew
horse and rabbit stew
in a stew
Irish stew
kick up a stew
Lowcountry stew
mike stew
mulligan stew
rascal stew
red-red stew
shearer's stew
SOB stew
son of a bitch stew
son-of-a-bitch stew
sonofabitch stew
son-of-a-gun stew
stew on a shingle
stew-pée
stew pond
stewpot
too many cooks spoil the stew