[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stern \stern\, n. as. stearn a kind of bird. see starling.
   zool.
   the black tern.
   1913 webster
see also:
starling 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stern \stern\, a. compar. sterner; superl. sternest. oe.
   sterne, sturne, as. styrne; cf. d. stuurish stern, sw. stursk
   refractory. root166.
   having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or
   aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed;
   unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as,
   a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern
   gaze; a stern decree.
   1913 webster

         the sterne wind so loud gan to rout.     --chaucer.
   1913 webster

         i would outstare the sternest eyes that look. --shak.
   1913 webster

         when that the poor have cried, caesar hath wept;
         ambition should be made of sterner stuff. --shak.
   1913 webster

         stern as tutors, and as uncles hard.     --dryden.
   1913 webster

         these barren rocks, your stern inheritance.
                                                  --wordsworth.
   1913 webster

   syn: gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind;
        hard-hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.
        1913 webster
see also:
sterner sternest 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stern \stern\, a.
   being in the stern, or being astern; as, the stern davits.
   1913 webster

   stern board naut., a going or falling astern; a loss of
      way in making a tack; as, to make a stern board. see
      board, n., 8
   b .

   stern chase. naut.
   a see under chase, n.
   b a stern chaser.

   stern chaser naut., a cannon placed in a ship's stern,
      pointing backward, and intended to annoy a ship that is in
      pursuit.

   stern fast naut., a rope used to confine the stern of a
      ship or other vessel, as to a wharf or buoy.

   stern frame naut., the framework of timber forms the
      stern of a ship.

   stern knee. see sternson.

   stern port naut., a port, or opening, in the stern of a
      ship.

   stern sheets naut., that part of an open boat which is
      between the stern and the aftmost seat of the rowers, --
      usually furnished with seats for passengers.

   stern wheel, a paddle wheel attached to the stern of the
      steamboat which it propels.
      1913 webster
see also:
stern board board stern chase chase stern chaser stern fast 
stern frame stern knee sternson stern port stern sheets 
stern wheel 

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stern \stern\, n. icel. stj=orn a steering, or a doubtful as.
   ste'orn. root166. see steer, v. t.
   1. the helm or tiller of a vessel or boat; also, the rudder.
      obs. --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   2. naut. the after or rear end of a ship or other vessel,
      or of a boat; the part opposite to the stem, or prow.
      1913 webster

   3. fig.: the post of management or direction.
      1913 webster

            and sit chiefest stern of public weal. --shak.
      1913 webster

   4. the hinder part of anything. --spenser.
      1913 webster

   5. the tail of an animal; -- now used only of the tail of a
      dog.
      1913 webster

   by the stern. naut. see by the head, under by.
      1913 webster
see also:
steer by the stern by the head by 

[5] : WordNet (r) 2.0

stern
     adj 1: of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in
            aspect; "an austere expression"; "a stern face" syn:
            austere
     2: not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty; "grim
        determination"; "grim necessity"; "russia's final hour, it
        seemed, approached with inexorable certainty"; "relentless
        persecution"; "the stern demands of parenthood" syn: grim,
         inexorable, relentless, unappeasable, unforgiving,
         unrelenting
     3: severe and unremitting in making demands; "an exacting
        instructor"; "a stern disciplinarian"; "strict standards"
        syn: strict, exacting
     n 1: the rear part of a ship syn: after part, quarter, poop,
           tail
     2: united states concert violinist born in russia in 1920
        syn: isaac stern
     3: the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on; "he
        deserves a good kick in the butt"; "are you going to sit
        on your fanny and do nothing?" syn: buttocks, nates,
        arse, butt, backside, bum, buns, can, fundament,
         hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior, prat,
         rear, rear end, rump, seat, tail, tail end, tooshie,
         tush, bottom, behind, derriere, fanny, ass
see also:
austere grim inexorable relentless unappeasable unforgiving 
unrelenting strict exacting after part quarter 
poop tail isaac stern buttocks nates 
arse butt backside bum buns 
can fundament hindquarters hind end keister 
posterior prat rear rear end rump 
seat tail end tooshie tush bottom 
behind derriere fanny ass 

[6] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

122 moby thesaurus words for "stern":
   spartan, spartanic, adamant, adamantine, afterpart, afterpiece,
   arse, ascetic, ass, astringent, austere, authoritarian, back,
   back door, back seat, back side, backside, beam, behind, bottom,
   breech, bum, butt, can, cast-iron, cheeks, churlish, counter,
   crabbed, crabby, critical, crusty, demanding, derriere, determined,
   dour, exacting, exigent, fanny, fantail, firm, flinty, forbidding,
   frowning, gloomy, grave, grim, gruff, hard, hard-core, harsh, heel,
   hind end, hind part, hindhead, immovable, immutable, implacable,
   impliable, inclement, inelastic, inexorable, inflexible,
   intransigent, iron, irreconcilable, keister, lugubrious,
   meticulous, mortified, obdurate, occiput, poop, posterior, postern,
   prat, rear, rear end, rearward, relentless, resolute, reverse,
   rigid, rigorous, rock-ribbed, rough, rudderpost, rugged, rump,
   rusty-dusty, saturnine, serious, severe, sour, steadfast, steely,
   stiff, stony, strict, stringent, taciturn, tail, tail end,
   tailpiece, tough, tuchis, tush, tushy, unaffected, unalterable,
   unbending, unchangeable, uncompromising, unforgiving, ungentle,
   ungiving, unmoved, unrelenting, unremitting, unsparing,
   unsympathetic, unyielding

Stern >> S Words
Stern, definition of term: Stern
stern_pag1.html

Stern Chase >> S Words
Stern Chase, definition of term: Stern Chase
stern+chase_pag1.html