▪ I. stire
(staɪə(r))
Also 8–9 styre, 9 stere.
[Of obscure origin. Cf. the synonymous stirom.]
A kind of cider apple; also the cider made from it. Also attrib.
| 1699 in Chesh. Gloss. s.v., [The lessor] shall enjoy..one measure of apples or crabs commonly called stires, [etc.]. 1743 Lond. & Country Brew. iii. (ed. 2) 246 In bottling their Styre Cyder. 1754 Compleat Cyder-man 66 Others [said] that the Styre Apple makes the best Cyder. 1826 Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 167 Stire cider, in the same state, sells for {pstlg}5. 1853 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIV. ii. 446 Some sort of apples, as the ‘stere’ and ‘Haglor crab’, in very dry seasons will only yield 1 hogshead of juice to 3 of fruit. |
▪ II. stire
obs. form of steer v., stir v.