n.
Function: verb
Inflected Form: stemmed ; stem · ming
Etymology: Middle English stemmen to dam up, from Old Norse stemma; akin to Middle High German stemmen to dam up and probably to Lithuanian stumti to shove
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 a : to stop or dam up (as a river) b : to stop or check by or as if by damming especially : STANCH < stem a flow of blood>
2 : to turn (a ski) in stemming
intransitive verb
1 : to restrain or check oneself also : to become checked or stanched
2 : to slide the heel of one ski or of both skis outward usually in making or preparing to make a turn