Forms: α. 1 styrne, 3–5 sturne, 3 stuyrne, 4–5 stuerne, 5 stourne; 4 sturen, 5 sturun; β. 3 Orm. stirne, 5 styrn; 5 stirrun; γ. 2 Kent. stiarne; δ. 3 steorne, 4–5 steerne, styerne, stiern(e, steirne; 4–5 steren(e, -in, -yn(e, -ynne; 6 stearne, 3–7 sterne, 4– stern. [OE. (WS.) styrne, earlier *stierne evidenced by stiernlíce; see STERNLY adv. The ME. forms, particularly Ormin’s stirne (cf. hirde from Anglian hiorde), point to an OTeut. type *sternjo-, which is represented only in English.
The Indogermanic root *ster-: *stor- is represented in several words with the sense ‘hard, rigid,’ or the like, e.g., Gr. στερεός solid, G. starr stiff, rigid; cf. STARE v.]
A. adj.
1. of persons and things personified, their dispositions and temper: Severe, strict, inflexible; rigorous in punishment or condemnation; not inclined to leniency.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen. (Gr.), 60. Hæfde styrne mod ʓegremod grymme.
a. 1122. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 1070. He wæs swiðe styrne man.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 268. Rihtwisnesse, he seið, mot beon nede sturne. Ibid., 366. Ase þe moder þet is reouðful deð hire bitweonen hire childe & þe wroðe sturne ueder, hwon he wule beaten.
1340. Ayenb., 130. Þou sselt uinde þane domes man zuo sterne and zuo stout and zuo strayt an zuo miȝtuol.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Pars. T., 170. Then shal the stierne and wrothe Iuge sitte aboue.
c. 1475. Partenay, 5730. Both stourne men & meke.
1607. Shaks., Cor., IV. i. 24. My (sometime) Generall, I haue seene the sterne.
1776. Gibbon, Decl. & F., xiv. I. 401. The stern temper of Galerius was cast in a very different mould; and while he commanded the esteem of his subjects, he seldom condescended to solicit their affections.
1781. Cowper, Conversat., 850. As stern Elijah said of old.
1841. W. Spalding, Italy & It. Isl., II. 341. A characteristic likeness of the stern, ambitious, military old bishop.
absol. 1820. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., I. i. 537. The spell Which must bend the Invincible, The stern of thought.
1850. Tennyson, In Mem., cx. 9. The stern were mild when thou wert by.
b. Const. with, to, towards. (OE. dative.)
a. 1023. Wulfstan, Hom. (1883), 267/1. And æʓðer he sceal beon mid rihte ʓe milde ʓe reðe, milde þam godum and styrne þam yfelum.
c. 1205. Lay., 3228. Hire fader hire wes sturne. Ibid., 6586. Wið þa goden he wes duhti and sturne [c. 1275 sterne] wið þa dusie.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 4951. King cadwal to him to sturne verst nas.
a. 1547. Surrey, Æneis, II. C ij b. Achilles was to Priam not so stern.
1847. Prescott, Peru (1850), II. 72. He was … towards his own people stern even to severity.
1900. New Cent. Rev., VII. 401. They have to be stern with applicants who have grown up under a lax system.
c. Rigorous in morals or principles; uncompromising, austere.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., II. met. vii. (1868), 60. What is now brutus or stiern Caton [L. rigidus Cato]?
1703. Rowe, Ulyss., IV. i. 1438. Honour stern, impatient of Neglect.
1742. Blair, Grave, 533. The supple Statesman, and the Patriot stern.
a. 1835. Hogg, Tales & Sk. (1837), VI. 12. Lord Nithsdale, who was a stern Catholic.
1837. Wordsw., Cuckoo at Laverna, 34. A few Monks, a stern society, Dead to the world and scorning earth-born joys.
1911. Count de Soissons, in Contemp. Rev., May, 577. Although he [Confucius] was a stern moralist, he said: ‘Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the public arts.’
d. Of personal attributes, actions, utterances, feelings, etc.: Severe, strict, hard, grim, harsh.
a. 1225. Ancr. R. 428. Uor swuch ouh wummone lore to beon—luuelich & liðe, and seldhwonne sturne.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 434. Not for his lordship ne his sterne power.
1687. Dryden, Hind & P., II. 506. But when the stern conditions were declar’d, A mournful whisper through the host was heard.
1777. Potter, Æschylus, Prometh. Chain’d, 14. Is there a god, whose sullen soul Feels a stern joy in thy despair?
1814. Wordsw., Laodamia, 55. But thou, though capable of sternest deed, Wert kind as resolute.
1820. W. Irving, Sketch Bk., I. 143. Even his enemies lamented the stern policy that dictated his execution.
1856. Kane, Arctic Expl., II. viii. 90. Desertion, or the attempt to desert, shall be met at once by the sternest penalty.
1892. Verney Mem., I. 343. The stern solemnity of the speakers.
† 2. Resolute in battle, steadfast, fiercely brave, bold. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 31471. Ah Oswi wes cniht sturne.
a. 1300. K. Horn, 877 (Camb. MS.). Þe paens þat er were so sturne, Hi gunne awei vrne.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 3409. A ful breme bataile bi-gan þat ilk time, Whan eþer sides a-sembled of þo segges sturne.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 157. Take kepe to thoos lordez, To styghtylle tha steryne mene as theire statte askys.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 3960. Polidamas … A full strong man in stoure, sturnyst in Armys.
c. 1450. Holland, Howlat, 652. Thar was … Stanchalis, steropis strecht to thai stern lordis.
b. Of battle, debate and the like: Stubbornly-contested, fierce, hard.
c. 1205. Lay., 20774. Þer gode cnihtes cumeð to sturne fihte.
c. 1395. Plowman’s Tale, 1, in Polit. Poems (Rolls), I. 304. A sterne strife is stirred newe.
1422. Yonge, trans. Secreta Secret., 174. Steryn battaill he yaue.
1579. Spenser, Sheph. Cal., Feb., 149. Stirring vp sterne strife.
1607. Chapman, Bussy d’Ambois, II. i. 32. His friends and enemies; whose stern fight I saw.
1777. Potter, Æschylus, Prometh. Chained, 16. When stern debate amongst the gods appear’d And discord in the courts of heav’n was rous’d.
1876. Blackie, Songs Relig. & Life, 182. I must go and do stern battle with herds of stiff-necked human cattle.
c. In alliterative verse and phrases, often with sense weakened, or influenced by the words with which it is coupled: as † stern on steed, † stern in steel, † stern in stour; † stern of state, high in rank; † stern and stout; † a stern steed, a fiery steed.
c. 1300. Leg. Gregory (Schulz), 883. Þe housbond was stern and stout.
13[?]. Sir Beues, 4500. He armede him in yrene wede And lep vpon a sterne stede.
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 429. Non is sternere of stat ne stouter þan oþir.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 1296. Armed ful wel, with hertes stierne and stoute.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 3872. He was the sterynneste in stoure that euer stele werryde.
c. 1400. Aunturs of Arth., 391 (Thornton MS.). In stele was he stuffede, þat steryne was one stede.
c. 1420. Avow. Arth., xii. He had drede, and doute, Of him that was stirrun, and stowte.
a. 1500–20. Dunbar, Poems xxvii. 81. He went agane to bene bespewit, So stern he wes in steill.
1576. Gascoigne, Philomene, Wks. 1910, II. 194. Or if (quoth she) there bee Some other meane more sure, More stearne, more stoute, than naked sword.
† 3. In a bad sense: Merciless, cruel. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 25840. He wende to finden þene feond sturne.
c. 1290. St. Kenelm, 202, in S. Eng. Leg., 351. And bi-cam stuyrne and bi-ladde hire men harde with muche wrech-hede.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, IV. 94. O sterne and cruwel fader þat I was.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), III. 71. For drede of lyouns þat were cruel and sterne.
c. 1400. Brut, XXX. 29. Artogaile … bicome so wickede and so sterne, þat þe Britons wolde nouȝt suffre hym to bene kyng.
1555. W. Watreman, Fardle Facions, I. iii. 35. Thei ware sterne, and vnruly, and bruteshely liued.
1590. Shaks., Mids. N., III. ii. 59. Pierst through the heart with your stearne cruelty. Ibid. (1593), 2 Hen. VI., III. ii. 213. Thy Mother tooke into her blamefull Bed Some sterne vntutur’d Churle. Ibid. (1600), Sonn., xcvi. How many Lambs might the sterne Wolfe betray.
4. Of looks, bearing, gait: Indicating a stern disposition or mood; expressing grave displeasure; resolute, austere, gloomy.
1390. Gower, Conf., III. 289. The king declareth him the cas With sturne lok and sturdi chiere.
1400–20. Lydg., Thebes, 2118. And in despit who that was lief or loth, A sterne pas thorgh the halle he goth.
c. 1470. Golagros & Gaw., 616. On twa stedis thai straid, with ane sterne schiere.
1581. A. Hall, Iliad, VII. 127. His countenaunce stout, his sterne martch, when they saw in such sort,… they doe beginne to ioye.
1591. Lodge, Catharos, B 1 b. The still streame is deepest, & the stearne looke doublest.
1600. Shaks., A. Y. L., IV. iii. 9. As I guesse By the sterne brow and waspish action … It beares an angry tenure.
1634. Milton, Comus, 446. Gods and men Fear’d her stern frown.
1770. Goldsm., Des. Vill., 197. A man severe he was, and stern to view.
1818. Shelley, Rosal. & Helen, 330. With the stern step of vanquished will.
1881. Lady Herbert, Edith, i. 18. Graver and sterner grew Mr. Gordon’s face.
1890. Conan Doyle, White Company, vi. The soldier stood in front of them with stern eyes, checking off their several packages.
† b. Terrible or threatening in aspect. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 17873. Com of þan steore a leome swiðe sturne.
c. 1449. Promp. Parv., 474/2. Sterne, or dredeful in syghte, terribilis, horribilis.
c. 1450. Merlin, iii. 43. He come to hem like a begger,… and hadde a grym berde and steirne loke.
1573. Baret, Alv., S. 758. Sterne, cruell & sturdie in lookes, grimme, terrible, fell, toruus.
c. transf. Of a building: Severe in style; gloomy or forbidding in aspect. Cf. 7.
1822. Scott, Peveril, xxxvi. Julian, who was led along the same stern passages which he had traversed upon his entrance, to the gate of the prison.
1833. Wordsw., Lowther, 3. Lowther! in thy majestic Pile are seen Cathedral pomp and grace, in apt accord With the baronial castle’s sterner mien.
1871. Freeman, Norm. Conq. (1876), IV. xxix. 395. Paul … reared the vastest and sternest temple of his age.
5. Of the voice: Expressive of a stern disposition or mood. (Cf. 6 c.)
c. 1330. Spec. Gy de Warw., 446. Wid sterne voiz and wid heie.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 611. His steuen stiffe was [and] steryn þat stonayd many.
1817. Scott, Harold Dauntless, II. vii. Stern accents made his pleasure known, Though then he used his gentlest tone. Ibid. (1820), Monast., xix. Father Eustace … addressing Halbert in a stern and severe voice.
6. Of things, in various transferred uses.
† a. Of blows, weapons: Inflicting severe pain or injury. Obs.
c. 1025. in Napier, OE. Glosses, 56/112. Asperis (uerberibus seu liuidis), styr[num] vel tear[tum].
a. 1175. Cott. Hom., 231. Mid gode repples and stiarne swepen. Ibid., 239. Þe wereȝede gastes þe hine uniredlice underfangeð mid stiarne swupen.
a. 1400. Leg. Rood, 184. Þe hamur bothe sterne and gret Þat drof þe nayles þorow hond and fete.
1615. Chapman, Odyss., XIV. 375. About whom Mischiefe stood And with his stern steele, drew in streames the blood.
1805. Scott, Last Minstrel, III. vi. Stern was the dint The Borderer lent!
b. Of grief or pain: Oppressive, hard to bear.
c. 1300. Leg. Gregory (Schulz), 174. Hir sorwe was strong and sterne.
1811. Shelley, Bereav., i How stern are the woes of the desolate mourner.
† c. Of sound: Harsh, menacing (cf. 5). Obs.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 1402. Sturnen [? read sturne] trumpen strake steuen in halle.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 113. A trompe with a sterne breth, Which cleped was the Trompe of death.
† d. Of the weather: Severe, causing hardship.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., II. ii. 146. To couere him fro reyne and fro othir sturne wedris.
1605. Shaks., Lear, III. vii. 63. If Wolues had at thy Gate howl’d that sterne time, Thou should’st haue said, good Porter turne the Key.
c. 1611. Chapman, Iliad, XXIV. 332. In this so sterne a Time Of night, and danger.
† e. Of a stream, a wind: Strong, violent. Obs.
13[?]. Guy Warw., 5840. He com to a water sterne.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, III. 743. The sterne wynd so lowde gan to route That no wight oþer noyse myghte here.
1426. Lydg., De Guil. Pilgr., 55. Lyk a Ryuer sterne, and of gret myght, He restyth nat nouther day nor nyght.
† f. Formidable in bulk, massive. Obs.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 143. For of bak & of brest al were his bodi sturne, Bot his wombe & his wast were worthily smale.
c. 1394. P. Pl. Crede, 214. And all strong ston wall sterne opon heiþe.
7. Of a country, or its physical features, the soil, etc. (with fig. notion of senses 1 and 4): Unkindly, inhospitable; destitute of amenity; forbidding in aspect, frowning, gloomy.
1812. Byron, Ch. Har., II. xlii. Stern Albania’s hills.
1814. Wordsw., Excurs., II. 92. Mountains stern and desolate.
1836. W. Irving, Astoria, I. vii. 116. The Tonquin ploughed her course towards the sterner regions of the Pacific.
1869. Tozer, Highl. Turkey, I. 196. The wild stern regions of European Turkey.
1884. P’cess Alice, Mem., 5. The sterner scenery of the Scotch Highlands.
a. 1894. Stevenson, In South Seas, II. ii. (1900), 154. The coco-palm in particular luxuriates in that stern solum.
8. Of circumstances and conditions, oppressive, compelling, hard, inexorable; esp. in the phrases stern necessity, stern reality.
1830. Carlyle, Richter Again, Ess. 1840, II. 309. Poverty of a sterner sort than this would have been a light matter to him.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. II. 193. The great enterprise to which a stern necessity afterwards drove him.
1854. Poultry Chron., I. 92. It is useless to deny the stern fact, that [etc.].
1856. Froude, Hist. Eng. (1858), II. vii. 174. The times were too stern to admit of nice distinctions.
1912. Standard, 20 Sept., 7/3. This is no flight of imagination; it is stern reality.
9. Comb. a. parasynthetic formations, as stern-browed, -eyed, -faced, -featured, -gated, -lipped, -visaged adjs.; b. complemental, as stern-born, -issuing, -looking, -sounding adjs.
1594. Kyd, Cornelia, IV. i. 167. Braue Romaine Soldiers, sterne-borne sons of Mars.
1597. Drayton, Heroical Ep., Mortimer to Q. Isab., 87. And we will turne sterne-visag’d Furie backe.
1648. J. Beaumont, Psyche, XVII. xlvi. The bold impetuousness Of stern-fac’d Mamalukes.
1725. Pope, Odyss., VIII. 564. He sung the Greeks stern-issuing from the steed.
1776. Mickle, trans. Camoens’ Lusiad, III. (1778), 99. The stern-brow’d tyrant roars and tears the ground.
1787. Polwhele, Engl. Orator, II. 4. A Warrior-Brood Stern-featur’d.
1825. J. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, I. 151. Six evangelical, stern-looking men.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., II. VI. iii. They roll through the streets, with stern-sounding music.
1870. Bryant, Iliad, XX. 50. Vulcan … Strong and stern-eyed.
a. 1900. S. Crane, Gt. Battles (1901), 206. They displayed that curious stern-lipped stupidity which is the puzzle of many nations.
† B. sb. In alliterative verse: A stern or bold man. Obs.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 214. Þe stele of a stif staf þe sturne hit bi-grypte.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 567. Ye may strive with no stuerne but of your strenght nobill.
c. 1400. Aunturs of Arth., 532 (Douce MS.). Þe sturne strikes one stray.
c. 1470. Golagros & Gaw., 19. Mony sterne our the streit stertis on stray.
C. adv. or quasi-adv. Sternly, resolutely, severely, harshly.
a. 1175. Cott. Hom., 231. Ȝief he fend were, me sceolden anon eter [= et þer] gat ȝemete … and stiarne hine besie.
c. 1200. Ormin, 15514. He þratte stirne wind o sæ & itt warrþ stille & liþe.
c. 1250. Owl & Night., 112. Þe faukun … lude yal and sturne chidde.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XV. 248. Noyther he … Lakketh, ne loseth ne loketh vp sterne.
c. 1450. Mirk’s Festial, 300. God lokud so sterne on hym.
1581. A. Hall, Iliad, I. 12. Thereby displeasing Agamemn, himselfe so gloriously And sterne who beares.
16[?]. in Peasants’ Rising (1899), 49. The said maior beareth him so sterne and hawty.
1637. Milton, Lycidas, 112. He shook his Miter’d locks, and stern bespake.
Comb. 1727. Broome, Poems, 223. The dreadful Brotherhood stern-frowning stands.
1912. O. Locker Lampson, in Contemp. Rev., Nov., 688. The play of his [Lord Wolverhampton’s] stern-set, deep-lined mouth.
