Wordwyrt

steward

/sˈtuːəd/STOO-urd
/sˈtuɚd/STOO-urd

Meaningsty-keeper

Common meaning: someone who manages a household, estate or event

‘sty, pen’ + ‘keeper’ → steward

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

  • stew — Old English stig “sty, pen” (dictionary form; path not traced)
  • ard — Old English weard “keeper” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Parts join in Old English as stīweard.

  1. Old Englishstīweard‘steward’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishstiwardsource
  3. Englishsteward‘someone who manages a household, estate or event’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English stig + weard ‘sty, pen + keeper’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry STEWARD, p. 596 · dictionary scan

Source words

  • stig + weard Old English · source word “sty, pen + keeper”
  • weard Old English · source word “guard, keeper; a watch”

Related words

ward

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