stew1
n.
- a dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan.
- informal a state of anxiety or agitation.
- archaic a public room used for hot steam baths.
▸a brothel.
v.
- cook or be cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan.
▸Brit. (of tea) become strong and bitter with prolonged brewing.
- informal remain in a heated or stifling atmosphere.
▸remain in an anxious or agitated state.
Phrase
- stew in one's own juice
informal be left to suffer the consequences of one's own actions.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. estuve (rel. to estuver ‘heat in steam’), prob. based on Gk tuphos ‘smoke, steam’.
stew2
n.
Brit. - a pond or large tank for keeping fish for eating.
- an artificial oyster bed.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. estui, from estoier ‘confine’.
stew3
n.
N. Amer. informal an air steward or stewardess.
Etymology
1970s: abbrev.