See Also: stew(4)(dictionary)
stew(medicine)
stew(1)(dictionary)
stew(2)(dictionary)
stew(3)(dictionary)
Beef Stew(recipes)
Pork Stew(recipes)
Beef and ale stew(recipes)
Irish Stew(recipes)
Mushroom stew(recipes)

stew(4) (iou)



stew verb. [stju:] LME.
[Old French estuver (mod. etuver) from Proto-Romance, prob. ult. from EX-1 + Greek tuphos smoke, steam, perh. also infl. by Germanic base of STOVE noun & verb1. Cf. STIVE verb2.]
verb trans. Bathe (a person etc.) in a hot bath or a steam bath. LME-M17.
a. verb trans. Cook (meat, fruit, etc.) slowly in simmering liquid in a closed vessel. Also, make (tea) strong or bitter due to prolonged brewing. LME.
Vogue Soups..made with a mixture of fresh and dried onions stewed in stock.
b. verb intrans. Of meat, fruit, etc.: undergo cooking by slow simmering in a closed vessel. Also, (of tea) become strong or bitter due to prolonged brewing. L16.
W. H. Canaway The tea stewed for fifteen minutes or so.
transf.
a. verb trans. Confine in an enclosed or poorly-ventilated space. Usu. foll. by up. arch. L16.
J. Sinclair Cattle suffer much from being..stewed close up in a low-roofed cow-house.
b. verb trans. Bathe in perspiration. Only in 17.
c. verb trans. fig. Soak, steep, imbue. Long rare or obsolete. E17.
Hazlitt An opinion is vulgar that is stewed in the rank breath of the rabble.
d. verb intrans. Stay excessively long in bed. Also, remain in a heated or stifling atmosphere. L17.
P. H. Newby It was the height of summer,..and in Port Said they'd be stewing.
e. verb intrans. Study hard. colloq. M19.
f. verb intrans. Fret; be in an agitated, angry, or anxious state. Freq. foll. by over. E20.
Tucson Magazine City planners don't just sit around and stew over traffic congestion.
Phrases: leave to stew, let stew fig. keep in a state of uneasy anticipation or suspense. leave to stew in one's own juice, let stew in one's own juice fig. leave to suffer the likely consequences of one's own actions; leave to one's own devices.
stewable adjective L19.
stewy adjective (rare) having a stewed or strong flavour; suggestive of being stewed: L19.