Emily Dickinson Lexicon

steam, n. [OE; obscure origin.]

Vapor; invisible mist; substance that water emits at the boiling point.

steed, n. [OE 'stud-horse, stallion'; ON 'mare'.]

Horse; stallion; noble riding mount.

steel (-'s), n. [OE < Germanic 'made of metal, firm, rigid'.]

1. Refined metal; carburate of iron; strong durable substance; [fig.] bravery; nerve; courage; extraordinary endurance.
2. Metal made from iron and carbon.
3. Durability; firmness; hardness; physical strength.
4. Sword; dagger; spear; offensive weapon; [fig.] cruelty; rudeness; social coldness; harshness in manner.

steep (-est), adj. [OE 'steep, declivity'; see stoop, v.] (webplay: hill).

1. Acute; sharp in angle; near vertical in slope.
2. Elevated; high-pitched; [word play] saturated; soaked; concentrated.
3. Craggy; rugged; ascending quickly in altitude; [fig.] treacherous; difficult; challenging.

steeple (-'s, -s), n. [see steep, adj.] (webplay: bells, church).

Spire on a church that typically ends in a point.

steersman, n. [OE stéor, action of guide or governing + man.] (webplay: helmsman).

Pilot; captain of a ship; person who steers.

stem (-s), n. [OE 'tree-trunk'.] (webplay: flowers, stop, trees).

1. Stalk of a plant that holds the plant upright.
2. Family roots; heritage.
3. [Fig.] torso of the human body or living creature.
4. Root; origin; beginning; base.

stem, v. [ON 'to stop the flow'.]

Repel; oppose; defy.

stemless, adj. [see stem, n.] (webplay: stopped).

Having no stalk on a plant.

step (-s), n. [see step, v.]

1. Stair; threshold; stairway; door stoop; entrance platform.
2. Short distance.
3. Footfall; noise of walking.
4. Act of locomotion; increment of walking.
5. Section; part of the journey; unit of distance; [fig.] moment; unit of time.
6. Path; route; [fig.] example; way of daily life.
7. Stride; [fig.] movement; motion; course; flowing; stream of air.
8. Progress; march; trudging; plodding; effort to climb upward.
9. Footprint; [fig.] sign of a presence; mark that someone is near.