▪ I. steer, n.1
(stɪə(r))
Forms: 1 stéor, 3 steore, 4, 6 ster, 4–7 stere, steere, 5 steyr, sterre, 6 sterr, styre, stiere, (sthere), 6–7 steare, 8 stear, 4– steer.
[OE. stéor masc. = MLG. stêr, MDu., Du. stier, OHG. stior (MHG., mod.G. stier), Goth. stiur:—OTeut. type *steuro-z:—pre-Teut. *(s)teuro-s, f. Indogermanic root *st(h)eu- to be fixed or rigid; the form without s is represented by ON. þjór-r (Sw. tjur, Da. tyr).
According to some the word goes back to an Indogermanic *sthewəro- (Skr. sthavira) stout. Connexion with Gr. ταῦρος, L. taurus, and their cognates is doubtful.]
1. a. A young ox, esp. one which has been castrated.
In the United States, Australia, etc., applied to male beef-cattle of any age.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 596 Ludarius, steor. c 1290 S. James 182 in S. Eng. Leg. 39 Þe Bollokes and þe ȝoungue steores. c 1340 Nominale (Skeat) 723 Boef bouet et ienyce, Oxe stere and hefere. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1291 Aboute his Chaar ther wenten white Alauntz, Twenty and mo, as grete as any steer. 1463–4 Compota Domest. (Abbotsford Club 1836) 48 In x bouiculis vocatis steres emptis. 1500 Ortus Vocab., Buculus, a stote or a sterre. 1549 N.C. Wills (Surtees 1908) 204 A pied stere of foure yeres. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. xi. 42 And Aeolus faire daughter Arne hight, For whom he turnd him selfe into a Steare. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 103 Like youthfull Steeres, vnyoak'd. 1638 tr. Bacon's Hist. Life & D. (Mosley) 38 Old spent Oxen being put into fresh pastures, recover new tender flesh, and as sweete as if it were of a Steere. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 222 Steers will not be beef till four or five years old. 1808 Scott Marm. v. iii, Or musing, who would guide his steer To till the fallow land. 1830 Hobart Town Almanack 105 Mr. Lord's men..had been compelled to ride after a small herd, and to shoot a steer at random on the plain. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Steer, a bullock, after it is one year old, till it enters its fourth year, when it is termed an ox. 1898 Rider Haggard Farmer's Yr. (1899) 64 There are four red-poll steers tied up fatting in a shed. |
b. attrib.
| 1537 Bury Wills (Camden) 132 A rede stere calfe. 1620 Venner Via Recta iii. 51 The flesh of Steeres, which we commonly call Steere-beefe. 1676 Lond. Gaz. No. 1126/4 Stolen or strayed.., two Steer Runts. 1817–8 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 175 Steer-beef is not nearly so good as ox-beef. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 106 Eight of the best steer calves should be brought into work when three years old. |
2. Comb. Designating events or participants in a rodeo, as steer roper, steer wrestler; steer bulldogging, steer roping, steer wrestling.
| 1910 Oregon Daily Jrnl. 30 Sept. 18/5 Steer roping contest for championship of the northwest. 1912 Oregon Sunday Jrnl. 18 Sept. 2/1 Among the many events to be featured at the Round-Up this year is the world's championship wild steer bull-dogging contest. 1914 World's Work (N.Y.) Feb. 445/2 It by no means follows that a good steer roper is a good calf roper. 1922 N.Y. Times 12 Nov. i. 5/2 One of the conditions of the steer-wrestling contests is that the contestants will suffer a ‘ten-second fine’ for ‘loosening or knocking off horns’. 1923 Ibid. 11 Aug. 16/4 Steer Wrestlers Here. Twenty-three contestants in the ‘steer-wrestling’ or ‘bull-dogging’ competitions..arrived in New York yesterday. 1924 Glasgow Herald 17 June 9 The ‘steer-roping’, which at Saturday's display met with some public disapproval, was withdrawn. 1968 R. F. Adams Western Words (rev. ed.) 305/1 Steer wrestling, one of the five standard rodeo events; also called bulldogging. The contestant rides alongside a running steer, jumps from his saddle to the steer's head, stops it, and twists it to the ground with its head and all four feet pointing in the same direction. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 1-c/3 University of Wyoming steer wrestler Shawn Madden took an early lead in the second go-round of steer wrestling, throwing his animal in 3.67 seconds. 1979 Sunset Apr. 6/3 Horses will compete in 36 classes, including calf and steer-roping events. |
b. Special combination. steerhide N. Amer., the hide of a steer; spec. leather made from this or from the hide of a similar beast.
| 1921 Jrnl. Amer. Leather Chemists Assoc. May 295 (heading) On certain characteristics of fresh steer hide. 1925 J. R. Arnold Hides & Skins ii. 32 The thickest part of a steer hide is over the rump. 1948 H. G. Kates Luggage & Leather Cards Manual 184 Steerhide leather is extensively used because of its adaptability to tooling. 1979 PN Rev. IX. 39/1 All winter your brute shoulders strained against collars, padding and steerhide over the ash hames. |
▪ II. steer, n.2 Obs. exc. in Comb.
Forms: 1 stéor, st{yacu}r, 2 steore, 2–5 ster, 2–6 stere, 4 stiere, 4–6 Sc. steir, 6 Sc. steyr, 6–7 steare, 7 stear, 4–7 steere, 5–7 steer.
[OE. stéor (also st{yacu}r) str. fem., action of guiding or governing (also, correction, punishment); a neut. *stéor rudder is inferred from the comb. stéoresman steersman. The immediate Teut. cognates are: OFris. stiure, MLG. st{uumlcirc}re (whence late MHG. stiure, mod.G. steuer), MDu. stûre, stiere (mod.Du. stuur), ON. st{yacu}ri neut., rudder, stern (:—OTeut. type *steurjo-m); OHG. stiura str. fem., rudder, stern, also (and prob. originally) staff (:—OTeut. type *steurjō); a different ablaut grade of the root (*steu-) is found in ON. staur-r pole, stake (cf. Gr. σταυρός cross).]
1. The action of directing or governing; guidance, control, rule, government. Phr. to have, take the steer (of a country, etc.).
Of the presumed literal sense, action of steering, no example is known. In 15–16th c. senses 1 and 2 b are not easy to distinguish.
| a 900 Bæda's Hist. iv. v. (1890) 278 Þætte næniᵹ biscop oðres biscopes scire inswoᵹe, ac þætte he þoncful sy steore [v.r. styre] him þæs bibodenan folces [sed contentus sit gubernatione creditae sibi plebis]. c 1000 ælfric in O.E. Hom. I. 304 Fela beoð stuntnyssa þær nan steor [c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 117 steore] ne bið. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3418 Ilc of ðe .v. steres-men Vnder hem welden in stere tgen. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. 130 Tak him before In all thy gouernance, That in his hand the stere has of ȝou all. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. xii, Calliope..scho of nobill fatis hes the steir, To write thair worschip, victorie and prowes. 1513 ― æneis viii. viii. 127 My son Pallas..Exhort I wald to tak the steyr on hand. 1558 Extracts Burgh Rec. Edin. (1873) III. 21 To haue the steir reull and gouernance of the toun. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 179 How sune he began to tak the steir of the Realme. |
2. A rudder, helm.
Not in OE.; Anglo-Fr. had estiere, presumably from English, early in the 13th c. (Marie de France, Eliduc 866).
| c 1290 S. Mary Magd. 175 in S. Eng. Leg. 467 Huy weren in .A. schip i-pult with-outen ster and ore. c 1305 Land Cokayne 154 Þe ȝung nunnes takith a bote And doth ham forth in that riuer Bothe with oris and with stere. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. viii. 35 For ȝif he ne arise þe rather and rauȝte to þe stiere, Þe wynde wolde wyth þe water þe bote ouerthrowe. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2416 And with a wawe brostyn was his stere. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. vi. (1869) 178 In swimmynge he streccheth his wynge and maketh þer of a seil and a steere. 1530 Palsgr. 276/1 Stere or roder in a shyp, gouernail. a 1568 Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 290 We sailit in storme, but steir, gyde or glas, To Paradice. a 1625 Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301) Steare. |
b. fig. or in fig. context.
| c 1200 Ormin 15258 Forr itt iss sett her att te ster To sterenn baþe þoþre. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 735 In hym triste I, and in his mooder deere, That is to me my seyl, and eek my steere. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 60 For whanne I may my lady hiere, Mi wit with that hath lost his Stiere. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems, Memento, homo 46 Thy Ransonner, with woundis fyve, Mak thy plycht anker and thy steiris. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. xv. 183 They commonly respect their own ends, commodity is the steer of all their actions. 1640 Reynolds Passions xxxix. 516 Judgement is the Ballace to Poise, and the Steere to guide the course. |
c. Put by synecdoche for: Ship, boat.
| a 1300 K. Horn 101 Þaruore þu most to stere..To schupe schulle ȝe funde. Ibid. 1373 Hi comen vt of stere. |
d. on steer, in steer: astern.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 641 Toward my deth with wynd in stere I sayle. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 110 With out tary than mon yhe stryk on ster. |
3. A plough-handle. (Cf. steer-tree b.)
| 1552 Huloet, Stere for the ploughe, trio. |
4. Comb.: steer-oar, an oar used at the stern for steering a boat; † steer-staff, a tiller; steer-tree, † (a) a tiller; (b) a plough-handle (now dial.). See also starboard n., steer-man.
| 1802 Naval Chron. IX. 293 To take the *steer-oar. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 162 A steer oar must be used to steer the boat. |
| 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxiii. 34 Thou shalt ben..as the steris man al forslept, the *steer staf lost [amisso clavo]. |
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 433 Wife, tent the *stere⁓tre, and I shall asay The depnes of the see that we bere, if I may. 1483 Cath. Angl. 361/2 A Stere tre, stiua, regimen. 1562 Wills & Invent. N.C. (Surtees 1835) I. 207, x pleughe heads, vj plewe sheares, ij steretres. |
▪ III. † steer, n.3 Obs.
Forms: 1 stéora, st{iacu}ora, st{iacu}era, 3–5 stere, 4–6 steere, 6 Sc. steir.
[OE. stéora wk. masc. = OHG. stiuro (MHG. stiure, stûre):—OTeut. type *steurjon-, related to prec. n.]
A steersman, helmsman; transf. a ruler or controller.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lvi. 431 Swelce se stiora slepe on midre sæ, & forlure ðæt stiorroður. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3413 Al bi ðhusenz ðis folc was told, Ilc ðhusent adde a meister wold; And vnder ðis tgen steres ben, Ilc here on hundred to bi-sen. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 350 He that is lord of Fortune be thy steere. c 1500 Lancelot 1020 She is here, That of thi lyue and of thi deith is stere. |
| a 1568 A. Scott Poems xv. 25 Sweit maistres,..Steir, rewll, and gyder of my senssis richt. |
▪ IV. steer, n.4 rare.
[Origin unknown; perh. some error.]
? A pile (of wood).
The word is not used in the corresponding passage of the earlier Acts, 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 30 §17 and 9 Geo. IV. c. 56 §18.
| 1837 Act 1 Vict. c. 89 §10 Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously set fire to any Stack of Corn, Grain,..Charcoal or Wood, or any Steer of Wood, shall be guilty of Felony. |
| 1861 Act 24 & 25 Vict. c. 97 §17 Any steer of Wood or Bark. |
▪ V. steer, n.5 slang (orig. U.S.).
(stiːə(r))
[f. steer v.1]
A piece of advice or information; a tip, a lead. (See also quot. 1970.)
| 1899 C. H. Hoyt Texas Steer (typescript) iv. 21 You're going back to Texas to give the voters of my district a steer. What's that steer to be? 1924, etc. [see bum a.]. 1926 Flynr's 16 Jan. 638/2 An' divvy with th' crooked barkeep for a steer or some kind of a tip if th' stunt panned out ok. 1935 L. E. Lawes Cell 202, Sing Sing iv. 553 You're both on the wrong steer..thinkin' about the devil when all the while it's the man himself deserves your attention. 1959 ‘M. M. Kaye’ House of Shade x. 127 All I've done is to give you a wrong steer, and make bad worse. 1970 D. Francis Rat Race vi. 79 I'd have to go round the Luton complex{ddd}could probably get a steer home from there, from the twenty-four hour radar. 1982 Times 21 Apr. 16/1 Steers from Smiths Industries on its financial performance are obviously worth listening to. |
▪ VI. steer, a. Obs. exc. Sc. and dial. (see E.D.D.).
(stɪə(r))
Forms: 3–5, 9 stere, 4 ster, ? sterre, 5, 9 steer, 7 steare.
[App. repr. OE. *stére (EWS. *st{iacu}ere) = OHG. stiuri, stûri strong, proud, MLG. stûr stiff, severe, stern:—OTeut. type *steurjo-, usually referred to the Indogermanic root *st(h)eu- to be fixed or rigid: cf. steer n.1 and n.2]
1. Strong, stout.
| 13.. Ipotis 440 (Vernon MS.) in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 346 Beten wiþ scourges stronge and ster. c 1415 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 125 Stedes ther stumbelyd in that stownde, That stod stere stuffed under stele. c 1425 Non-Cycle Myst. Plays 19 With storms both stiff and steer. c 1450 Guy Warw. 662 Then came the dewke Raynere, An hardy knyght and a stere. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 51 Wheare the oates have beene steare, and much scattered. |
† 2. ? Staunch, steadfast in affection (to another).
| a 1300 K. Horn 1344 (Camb.) He luueþ him so dere, & is him so stere. |
▪ VII. steer, v.1
(stɪə(r))
Forms: 1 st{iacu}eran, (ᵹe)stéoran, stéran, st{iacu}oran, st{iacu}ran, st{yacu}ran, 2 isteoran, -en, stieran, 3 ste(o)ren, Orm. ste(o)renn, 3–7 stere, 4 stiere, (sture), Sc. steyr, 4–5 ster, 4–7 steere, 4–8 Sc. steir, 5 steare, 5–6 styre, 6 stir(e, 6–7 stirre, stear (6 arch. ysteare), 7 sterre, 5– steer. pa. tense 2 stierde, 3 steorede, 4 sterd, steryd, 5 stered, Sc. sterit, 6–7 steard, 8 steird. pa. pple. 1 ᵹest{iacu}ored, 4 steerid, sterede, stierd, 4–5 stered, 6 Sc. steirt.
[Com. Teut.: OE. st{iacu}eran = OFris. stiura, MLG. st{uumlcirc}ren, (M)Du. sturen, st{iacu}eren, OHG., MHG. stiuren (mod.G. steuern), ON. st{yacu}ra (Sw., Norw. styra, Da. styre):—OTeut. *steurjan, f. *steurō rudder, steer n.2
A verb of identical form, OTeut. *steurjan f. *steurjo- strong, rigid (see steer a.), appears in Goth. stiurjan to establish, to affirm. It is possible that the OE. sense ‘to rebuke’ may belong to a verb f. the Teut. adj.]
1. trans. To guide the course of (a vessel) by means of a rudder, or of an oar or paddle used like a rudder.
Now occas. in wider sense, to guide (a vessel) by other mechanical means, e.g. by a propeller or arrangement of sails.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1046, Up þæs cynges scipe þe Harold eorl ær steorde. a 1200 Vices & Virtues 43 [Noe] hie [sc. ða arche] swa stierde on ðe muchele wilde flode..ðat [etc.]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14099 To þer schipes þey gaf þer tent To stere þem boþe fer & hende. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 59 Thei conne noght here Schipes stiere, So besiliche upon the note Thei herkne. 1400 26 Polit. Poems i. 65 Whanne a fool stereth a barge, Hym self and al the folke is shent. 1598 Florio Ital. Dict. To Rdr. 9 They were many to steere a passage-boate. a 1647 Pette in Archæologia XII. 268 The ship wrought exceeding well and was so yare of conduct that a foot of helm would steer her. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. v. 342 The proa generally carries six or seven Indians; two of which are placed in the head and stern, who steer the vessel alternately with a paddle according to the tack she goes on. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 183 In steering a vessel, it has been usual for the helmsman to have one compass, and the captain in his cabin to have another. 1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe xxiii, Martin had best steer it; he knows the rocks. 1909 Edin. Rev. July 219 No less impossible than to steer a boat without taking a seat in it. |
| In figurative context. c 1200 Ormin 15259 Forr itt iss sett her att te ster To sterenn baþe þoþre. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 11 Lo, thus was Petres barge stiered Of hem that thilke tyme were. a 1529 Skelton Bouge of Court 107 She that styreth the shyp, make her your frende. 1577 Gosson in Kirton's Mirr. Mans Lyfe K viij, The prime of youth, whose greene vnmellowd yeres..sets vp saile, and sternlesse ships ysteares. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) I. vi. lviii. 305 Unless wisdom sit at the Helm and steer the motions of his Will. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 874 For whatsoe're we perpetrate, We do but row, we'are steer'd by Fate. 1911 Sir H. Craik Life Clarendon I. ii. 60 He steered his bark through the dangerous eddies with consummate skill. |
b. transf. Of animals.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. liv. (1495) 171 In foules wyth clouen fete the fote is nedefull to ledynge, styrynge and rulynge in waters. 1657 tr. Jonstonus' Wond. Things Nat. 233 He [the squirrel] takes the bark of a Tree..and sets it on the water, sitting in it, and stears it with his Tail lifted up, and so the wind carries him over. 1873 Tristram Moab vii. 131 Without a perceptible movement of their wings, only their long tails gently steering them in and out. |
c. To guide (a vessel) to a specified point or in a specified direction.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. xix. 760 Lete me be putte within a barget & but one man with me suche as ye trust to stere me thyder. 1574 W. Bourne Regiment for Sea (1580) 78 Nowe for to set any course to stirre the ship vpon any place appoynted. 1781 Cowper Charity 25 When Cook..Steer'd Britain's oak into a world unknown. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. ciii, We steer'd her toward a crimson cloud. 1876 J. G. Holland Seven Oaks x. 133 Jim steered his boat around a little bend and in a moment it was running in shallow water. |
† d. To work (the rudder). Obs.
| c 1570 Sat. Poems Reform. xxx. 57 In trublous time yow micht haif steirt ye ruther. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxvi. i. 284 For tenne dayes space there was none to steere the helm of the Empire. |
e. to steer a, one's course: (a) lit. of a helmsman or a navigator, to guide a vessel along a certain course; also of the vessel (cf. 2 d); (b) transf. and fig.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. i, He beares an unturned sayle with every winde: Blowe east, blowe west, he stirs his course alike. 1644 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 325 Those particulars that first induced me to steere this course. 1650 T. Hubbert Pill Formality 193 If they have not Christ Jesus for their Pilot to steere their course for them, they must certainly sinke. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 248 Intending to take ship at Alexandria, and steer the course for Italy. 1709 T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 49 The Magnet..which guides him to steer his Course through these vast Expansions of Water. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. i. 302 It blew from the S.W, and consequently was directly opposed to the course we wanted to steer. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 174 Let us learn to steer the middle course. 1764 Harmer Observ. ii. 59 Deserts where the Arabs alone know how to steer their course. 1822 Hazlitt Men & Mann. Ser. ii. v. (1869) 113 You must steer a middle course. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Steer her course, going with the wind fair enough to lay her course. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xxii. 358 To see that the boat was steering her right course. |
† f. refl. = to steer one's course. Also in pass., to be guided (by the compass, etc.) in steering.
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iv. 80 Ne had þei striked a strake and sterid hem þe better,..Þey had be þrowe ouere þe borde backewarde ichonne. 1651 J. C[leveland] Poems 35 The Card by which the Mariners are stear'd. |
2. absol. and intr. To guide a vessel by means of a rudder or the like.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. ix. 59 Swiðe eaðe mæᵹ on smyltre sæ unᵹelæred scipstiera ᵹenoh ryhte stieran. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 312 He that behinde sat to stiere Mai noght the forestempne hiere. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some stered at the helme behynde, Some whysteled after the wynde. 1587 Mirr. Mag., Severus viii, Who takes to raygne the scepter in his hand, Is like to him, in sterne to stirre that sits. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 745 Some of their men were starued, the rest all so weake, that onely one could lie along vpon the Helm and sterre. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 395 Two skilful helmsmen on the poop to steer. 1839 H. Malcom Trav. (1840) 45/1 Boats lie before the town, literally in thousands... The wife steers, while the husband rows. 1883 Century Mag. Sept. 655 Even the men whose work lies ashore..can steer and reef on a pinch. |
| In figurative context. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 155 The Prior of S. Androis elected Bischop..intendis in thair contrare to steir and row, with diligens. 1681 J. Flavel Right Man's Ref. 202 Let God steer for you in a storm. |
b. intr. in passive sense. Of a ship: To admit of being steered; to answer the helm (well or ill).
| 1627 Capt. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 40 Foundering is when she will neither veere nor steare. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 18 The Ship will Stear the better when you sit all quiet. 1692 J. Smith's Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. 83 The Ship..does not steer steddy. 1829 Ann. Reg., Chron. 127/1 She pulls six oars; has two lug sails; steers either with a scull or rudder. 1880 Times 25 Dec. 7/4 The ship..Steers well under all circumstances. |
c. Of a navigator: To guide a vessel in a certain direction; to sail or row towards a specified place.
| 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 185 Þanne whitli þe weiht ouur þe watur sterus, And þe lettrus to his lord ledus ful sone. c 1614 Sir W. Mure Wks. I. 64 The Ile no sooner to their eyes appear'd, Till thither Palinure their pilote steir'd. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 1020 Or when Ulysses on the Larbord shunnd Charybdis, and by th' other whirlpool steard. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. vi. 67 You may estimate the Min. but you cannot Steer by a whole Deg. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 270 We steered South-west till Sunday. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 116 We came to sail, and steer'd out of the Lagoon West. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. l. III. 128 They steered by the guidance of the stars. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) III. 599/2 But failing of this, they steered to Jamaica. 1799 Monthly Rev. XXX. 134 note, They seized a canoe, and steered along shore. 1840 Thirlwall Hist. Greece lix. VII. 325 He set sail from Ephesus..and steered direct for Athens. 1871 B. Taylor Faust II. ii. iii. 146 They have left the place, Steering away to Samothrace. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6. 407 The daring adventurer steered undauntedly for the Moluccas. |
| fig. a 1639 T. Carew To Her in Absence 10 Love is the Pilot, but o'r-come with fear Of your displeasure, dares not homewards stear. c 1655 Milton 2nd Sonn. to Cyriack Skinner 8 Yet I..still bear vp and steer Right onward. 1674 Temple Let. Wks. 1731 II. 297, I knew he was a great Man, but could not tell yet, to what Points of the Compass he intended to steer. 1675 Ld. Danby in Essex Papers (Camden) 22 Though itt bee very difficult to steere amongst so many rocks of faction, without striking upon some. |
d. Of a ship: To be guided by the helm in a certain direction.
| 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 515 As when a Ship..where the Wind Veres oft, as oft so steers, and shifts her Saile. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 18 You have the Ship as at first, steering under all her Canvas. 1720 Ramsay Prosp. Plenty 156 Vers'd in the critic seasons o' the year, When to ilk bay the fishing-bush should steer. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. x. 247 The galeon..steers for the latitude of 13° or 14°. 1839 Marryat Phant. Ship xii, The Batavia steered into the roads. 1885 Law Times Rep. LIII. 60/1 The Chusan was steering E. by S., and proceeding at the rate of about ten knots. |
e. to steer large, steer small: see quot. 1867.
| 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge ix, The frigate was steering large, about a mile on our lee-bow. 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 319 To steer small, means to steer steadily without putting the helm too much to either side. To steer large, is the reverse. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Steer Large, to go free, off the wind. Also, to steer loosely. Ibid., Steer Small, to steer well and within small compass, not dragging the tiller over from side to side. |
f. to steer clear of: chiefly fig., to avoid completely.
| 1723 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 69 We would have steered clear of them, and cared not to have them see us, if we could help it, but they did see us, and cried, Who comes there? 1789 Belsham Ess. I. xviii. 338 Of tame acquiescence in vulgar opinion..Walpole..has steered perfectly clear. 1804 Med. Jrnl. XII. 415 It is incumbent on them..whilst they steer clear of Scylla, to beware they do not fall into Charybdis. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iii. vii. ¶5, I steered clear of Hortensia. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. i. xviii. (1842) II. 160 Columbus..had been instructed..to steer clear of all Portuguese settlements on the African coast. 1884 Manch. Exam. 11 June 5/5 Mr. Marshall spoke with good humour, and steered clear alike of levity and acerbity. 1893 Hodges Elem. Photogr. (1907) 68 Enabling him to steer clear of some of these [difficulties]. |
3. trans. In extended sense, to guide something that is in motion. In various applications. a. To guide (a chariot, a horse, cattle, etc.).
In mod. racing parlance the sense is a new development from sense 1.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §iii, Se stiorð þam hrædwæne eallra ᵹesceafta. 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 334 Thar may no man haf worthy hede, Bot he haf wit to steir his stede. a 1568 Wyf of Auchtermuchty 100 in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 345 Scho..stowtly steird the stottis abowt. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. viii. 30 His charet swift in haste he thither steard. 1844 Kinglake Eothen xxi, I steered my dromedary close up alongside of the mounted Bedouin. 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Africa (1902) 105/2 The native who led the long team..suddenly turned the leading oxen short towards the river's bank, thus rendering it impossible for the driver to steer his after-oxen. 1884 Longman's Mag. Apr. 605 It may be that he is going to steer his own animal in the race for which it is being prepared. 1890 D. Davidson Mem. Long Life iv. 92 Tapp was the jockey..and ‘steered him to victory’. |
b. To guide (a plough).
| c 1480 Henryson Mor. Fab. 2224 Thair wes ane Husband, quhilk had ane pleuch to steir. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 29 Twa good stilts to the pleugh And ye your sell maun steer. 1758 Akenside Odes ii. xi. 9 The conquerors..fed Calabrian flocks, and steer'd the Sabine plough. 1914 Daily News 25 Feb. 2 He feeds the pigs and steers the plough. |
c. To guide the course of (a vehicle, a bicycle, a balloon, etc.) by mechanical means; to guide (a floating object) by taking advantage of a current.
| 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 233 These sledges hold only two, the traveller and the guide, who sits forward steering with a stick. 1788 Cowper Dog & Water Lily 18 With cane extended far I sought To steer it close to land. 1873 G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere xi. 91 A plague of gnats..doubly unpleasant when steering a bicycle along rutty lanes. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 269/2 Santos Dumont..won the Deutsch prize by steering a balloon from St. Cloud round the Eiffel Tower and back in half an hour. |
d. To guide, lead, ‘pilot’ (a person) through a crowd, along an intricate path, etc. Also absol. Also (U.S. slang) to manœuvre or decoy (a person) to a place, or into doing something.
| 1859 Habits of Gd. Society v. 210 It is the gentleman's duty to steer, and in crowded rooms nothing is more trying. 1889 Century Dict., Bunko-steerer, that one of the swindlers called bunko-men who allures or steers strangers to the bunko-joint or rendezvous. 1891 C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 159, I don't thank you very much for steering me up against such a job. 1911 C. F. Hamilton in United Empire June 383 There is little or no suggestion that he is sent to ‘steer’ us, as an American would say. 1915 Sketch 16 June 227/1, I..shook hands with old Lemann, and steered him into the smoking-room. |
4. intr. To shape one's course (on land, in the air). Also trans. with cognate object.
| c 1500 Lancelot (S.T.S.) 3428 And brandymagus chargit he to stere Efter hyme, within a lytill space. 1629 Milton Ode Nativity 146 Mercy..With radiant feet the tissued clouds down stearing. 1633 C. Farewell East-Ind. Colation 45 [The elephant] steeres like a hulke, stifnecked, almost all of one peice. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 225 Then with expanded wings he stears his flight Aloft. Ibid. vii. 430 So stears the prudent Crane Her annual Voiage. ? c 1670 Hist. Tom Thumb iii. 104 in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 237 But Tom cry'd in a merry mood: Unto the King we'll steer. 1700 T. Brown Amusem. Ser. & Com. 11 Let's Steer for the Court, for that's the Region which will furnish us with the finest Lessons. a 1701 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 134 Here steering Northerly directly up the Valley. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. ii, Driven frae house and hald, where will ye steer? 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 32 The quails..steer their flight back to enjoy in Egypt the temperate air. 1792 Burns My ain kind Dearie iii, At noon the fisher seeks the glen, Along the burn to steer. 1807 Wordsw. White Doe v. 32 She..oft her steps had hither steered. 1828 Lytton Pelham xxix, The Frenchman..bowed, and drew himself aside. Vincent steered by. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 111 He was bravely steering his way across the continent. 1887 J. Ball Nat. in S. Amer. 128 Passing the houses, I at once steered for the rocky slopes behind. 1896 Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign xvi, I steered by moon and time until I thought I was near Enkeldoorn. |
b. Of an inanimate thing: To travel in a set course.
| 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. viii. 25 The Winter of the Year, when the Sun was the nearest of all, and steer'd directly over mens heads. 1830 Marryat King's Own xxii, The moon..was high in the heavens, steering for the zenith in all her beauty. 1861 Clough Ess. Class. Metres, Elegiacs i. 5 Thou busy sunny river;..Through woodlands steering, with branches waving above thee. |
† c. trans. To direct one's course towards (a place). Obs. (? nonce-use.)
| 1667 Milton P.L. x. 328 Satan..Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing His Zenith. |
† 5. To check, restrain, control. In OE. also: To rebuke. (In OE. the obj. is in the dative.) Obs.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark viii. 30 Forbead vel stiorde vel stiorend wæs him [Vulg. comminatus est eis]. 971 Blickl. Hom. 19/5 Seo meniᵹo styrde þæm blindan þæt he cleopode. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 192 Wið maᵹan bryne & þurste; wlaco wæter menge wið þone selestan ele, sele drincan, þæt styrð þam þurste. a 1225 St. Marher. 9 Þu steorest te sea stream þæt hit fleden ne mot fir þan þu markedest. a 1300 K. Horn (Camb. MS.) 434 ‘Lemman’ he sede ‘dere, Þin herte nu þu stere’. a 1300 Cursor M. 4295 Thoru strengh o luue þat nan mai stere. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 27 Þay ar happen also þat con her hert stere. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 935 And fyr so wod it myȝ te nat been steerid In al the noble toure of ylioun. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 122 So that thou myht thi tunge stiere. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. 194 His tong for to reule[n] and to stere. c 1440 Bone Flor. 825 The lady swowned, and was full woo, Ther myght no man hur stere. a 1500 Frere & Boy (c 1512) A ij b, All that may the pype here Shall not themselfe stere But laugh and lepe aboute. c 1640 R. Davenport Surv. Sci. Wks. (1890) 325 Rhethorick..whose sweete tongue Can steere the stubborn'st hart. |
† 6. To guide (a person, his conduct) by admonition or counsel. Obs.
| a 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 320 He nolde mid his to-cyme ða synfullan fordeman,..ærest he wolde us mid liðnysse styran [c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 95 isteoren] þæt he siððan mihte on his dome us ᵹehealdan. c 1200 Ormin 14705 To wurrþenn herrsumm..Till alle þa þatt hafenn þe To ȝemenn & to sterenn. a 1225 Juliana 30 Festne mi bileaue steor me ant streng me. 12.. Prayer to Virgin 30 in O.E. Misc., Bricht and scene quen of storre..in þis false fikele world so me led and steore. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 42 He strengþeþ þe to stonde he stureþ þi soule. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. xvii. (1687) 94/2 Euripides is steer'd by Socrates. |
† b. to steer off: to guide away from some opinion. Obs.
| 1662 H. More Antid. Ath. i. i. (1712) 9 The attempt of endeavouring to steer them off from Atheism. 1681 ― Expos. Dan. Pref. p. xv, When men see so palpable a correspondency..they will be steared off from conceiving any such sense. |
† c. To conduct (one's life). Also refl.
| a 1250 Prov. Alfred 562 Ȝif..þu ne moȝe mid strenghe þeselwen steren. a 1300 Cursor M. 19822 Fott him to þe, he sal þe lere, Al o þi lijf, hu þu sal stere. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. i. ix. 271 He..by Letters gave them [his sons] counsels for the steering themselves. 1699 T. C[ockman] tr. Tully's Offices (1706) 117 By whose Counsel and Direction they may steer their Lives. |
† d. Of reasons, indications, influences: To guide. Obs.
| 1649 Nicholas Papers (Camden) 135, I am confident..his fathers last desires and commands will steere our yong King right. a 1652 J. Smith Sel. Disc. i. 21 Their life being steered by nothing else but opinion and imagination. 1653 W. Blithe Engl. Improver Impr. 63 Therefore in every new work some triall would be made of all materials, and therein thou must be steered by those the very place affords, whether Stone, Chalk, Wood, or Earth, or all. a 1683 Owen Holy Spirit (1693) 262 So as to be steered thereby in his Work. |
e. intr. To direct one's course of action (by guiding indications). Often, to find a safe course between two evils or two extremes.
| 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriot. 18 If we steer by the conjecture of many and Septuagint expression; some trace thereof [burial of treasures] may be found. 1670 Temple Let. Wks. 1731 II. 224 By his Advice his Highness resolves to steer in the Course of his Affairs and Motions relating to England. 1697 Dryden æneis Ded. (e) 4 b, I thought fit to steer betwixt the two extreams, of Paraphrase, and literal Translation. a 1718 Prior Paulo Purg. 57 Her Prudence did so justly steer Between the Gay and the Severe. c 1721 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 198, I have been now two years on this side [of the water] but still steer'd snugg and clear that I might preserve my credit and safety at home. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. iii. 51 Rational animals should use their reason, and steer by it. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, III. viii. 103 Now he should steer in that difficult and arduous conjuncture. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages viii. iii. (1819) III. 294 The rolls of parliament, by whose light we have hitherto steered. 1858 Greener Gunnery 309, I am quite satisfied to steer between extremes. |
† 7. To govern, rule. Obs. exc. as conscious metaphor (figurative use of sense 1).
to have to steer: to have under one's command.
| a 900 Bæda's Hist. iv. xii. (1890) 300 Tweᵹen biscopas [wæron] on his stowe ᵹesette..þæt wæs Boosa, se styrde [v.r. steorde] Dera mæᵹðe, & Eata Beornicea. c 1200 Ormin 3679 He þatt all þiss weorelld shop & alle shaffte stereþþ. a 1300 E.E. Psalter ii. 9 In yherde irened salt þou stere þa. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 38 Alexander the King..That Scotland haid to steyr and leid. a 1400 Launfal 684 Be god, that all may stere. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 117 Thre thousand knightes he had to stere. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 920 Off kyn he was, and Wallace modyr ner, Off Craufurd syd that mydward had to ster. c 1480 Henryson Mor. Fab. 1571 To reule and steir the land, and Iustice keip. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xi. 14 All are gone At will of God that all thing steiris. 1601 Lambarde Dict. Angl. Top. (1730) 42 One of the most wise..Princes that ever stered this common Weale. 1633 Ford Broken H. v. ii. K 1, Neuer liu'd Gentleman of greater merit, Hope, or abiliment to steere a kingdome. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 878 Some will from hence be apt to infer, That there is no God at all, but that blind Chance and Fortune steer all. |
† b. To manage, administer (government); to conduct (business, negotiations, etc.). Obs.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xvii, Þæt ic..ᵹerisenlice mihte steoran & reccan þone anwald þe me befæst wæs. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 10 Maxence steorede þe refschipe in Rome. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 62 The quhilk sterit ane Emperouris estate in his tyme. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §157 The great persons who steered the public affairs. |
† c. To keep in order (a crowd). Obs.
| 1616 J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. xi. 248 For whome large space was made by th' marshallers, gardantes, and tipp staves, which the people stears. |
† d. intr. To have charge of. Obs.
| 13.. Seuen Sages 894 In that forest woned an herd, That of bestes loked an sterd. |
▪ VIII. steer, v.2 rare.
(stɪə(r))
[f. steer n.1]
trans. To make a steer of, castrate (a calf).
| 1886 Daily Tel. 18 Oct. (Cassell), The male calves are steered and converted to beef. |
▪ IX. steer
obs. and dial. var. stair, stir.