Stew Meaning
/stʃʉː/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.
nounA heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath.
Sentence Examples
How do you like your beef stew?
I am in a stew.
Could you give me a hand with this stew?
CEFR Practice Quiz
She added beef and potatoes to the pot to make a hearty ____ for dinner.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The slow-cooked beef ____ smelled delicious as it simmered on the stove throughout the cold afternoon.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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"
— 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI:
"[...] 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."
— 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:
"And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews."
— 1681, John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel:
"Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews."
— 1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh:
"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."
— 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 37:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She added beef and potatoes to the pot to make a hearty ____ for dinner.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The slow-cooked beef ____ smelled delicious as it simmered on the stove throughout the cold afternoon.