Stem, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stemmed p. pr. & vb. n. Stemming.]  To oppose or cut with, or as with, the stem of a vessel; to resist, or make progress against; to stop or check the flow of, as a current. “An argosy to stem the waves.”
    [They] stem the flood with their erected breasts.   --Denham.
    Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age.   --Pope.
 stem
      n 1: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are
           removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root,
            root word, base, theme, radical]
      2: a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or
         fungus or a plant part or plant organ [syn: stalk]
      3: cylinder forming a long narrow part of something [syn: shank]
      4: the tube of a tobacco pipe
      5: front part of a vessel or aircraft; "he pointed the bow of
         the boat toward the finish line" [syn: bow, fore, prow]
      6: a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward
         and the other ski is brought parallel to it [syn: stem
         turn]
      v 1: grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in
           the national debt stems from the last war"
      2: cause to point inward; "stem your skis"
      3: stop the flow of a liquid; "staunch the blood flow"; "them
         the tide" [syn: stanch, staunch, halt]
      4: remove the stem from; "for automatic natural language
         processing, the words must be stemmed"
      [also: stemming, stemmed]
 stemmed
      adj 1: having a stem or stems or having a stem as specified; often
             used in combination; "stemmed goblets"; "long-stemmed
             roses" [ant: stemless]
      2: producing a well-developed stem above ground [syn: caulescent,
          cauline] [ant: acaulescent]
      3: having the stem removed; "stemmed berries"
 stemmed
      See stem