▪ I. steeve, n.1 Naut.
(stiːv)
Also 8–9 stive, 9 steve.
[f. steeve v.1]
(See quot. 1852.)
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 31 The stive of the bowsprit. 1809 Naval Chron. XXI. 27 The bowsprit..has not so much stove [read steve] as is usual. 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 320 The Steeve is the angle which it makes with the horizon. 1852 J. Fincham Ship Building iv. (ed. 3) 110 Stive, the angle upwards that any timber, &c. makes with the horizon, or its elevation above a horizontal line, as the stive of the cathead, bowsprit, &c. 1888 W. C. Russell Death Ship I. xi. 124 Look hard, and you'll mark the steeve of her bowsprit. 1901 Munsey's Mag. XXIV. 461/1 A gradual diminution of the steve of the bowsprit. |
▪ II. steeve, n.2 U.S. Naut.
(stiːv)
[? f. steeve v.2 But cf. Sp. esteba of the same meaning.]
A long derrick or spar, with a block at one end, used in stowing cargo. (Cent. Dict.)
| 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix, Two long, sharp spars, called steeves..were placed with their wedge ends into the inside of the hide. |
▪ III. steeve, a. and adv. Now Sc. and dial.
(stiːv)
Forms: 4 stef (inflected and as adv. steve), 6, 9 steve, 6 steif, 7 steave, 8–9 sti(e)ve, 9 steive, 8– steeve.
[ME. stef (inflected steve), of uncertain etymology; connexion with the synonymous stiff a. is doubtful. Cf. Du. and LG. stevig of the same meaning; by some referred to the root of staff n.1]
a. adj. Firm, unyielding, strong, † rigid, stiff (as in death). b. adv. Firmly, unyieldingly.
| c 1300 Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 574 Gregorij was feir of teyle, Strong and stef in eueri liþ. a 1320 Sir Tristr. 3079 Bifore was stef on stede Tristrem and ganhardine. 1330 Otuel 447 Þei riden to-gedere wiþ speres kene, Þat were steue & nouȝt longe. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7116 He to grounde plat þere, Al so he stef & stan-ded were. 13.. Guy Warw. 438 Loue me doþ to grounde falle, Þat y ne may stond stef wiþ alle. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2894 Was non so stef him wiþ-stod so sternli he wrouȝt. Ibid. 3600 He dede þen his stef stede stert a god spede. c 1375 Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 286 Bodi of Crist þat was stable and stef in al his temptaciouns. 1382 ― Deut. ix. 14 Y shal set thee vpon folk that is more and strenger [v.r. steuere; Vulg. fortior] than this. Ibid., Jer. xxxi. 9 Y shal lede them bi stef stremes of watris [Vulg. per torrentes aquarum]. 1581 Sat. Poems Reform. xliv. 177 Vnder the schaddou lat Louson fut it steue, Scurgar of Christ, quhilk is ane odius thing. 1594 A. Hume Hymnes ii. 113 The earth, quhilk of it selfe, is stable, firme, and steif. 1637 Ld. Wariston Diary (S.H.S.) 251 The roots of my haire..stood al steave. a 1774 R. Fergusson Hallowfair xiii. Wks. (1805) 141 It's gude, as lang's a canny chiel' Can staun steeve in his shoon. 1786 Burns To Auld Mare iii, A filly buirdly, steeve an' swank. a 1801 H. Macneill To C.L. Poet. Wks. II. 46 Wi' crack—and joke—and steeve rum toddy. 1819 Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 119 Doth by this mou' o' mine defy The steevest o' your host. 1829 Brockett N.C. Gloss. (ed. 2), Stive, strong, muscular. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls 114 We're a' grown steeve abstainers noo. |
Hence † ˈstefhede [see -head], firmness; † ˈstefnes [see -ness], rigidity.
| 1340 Ayenb. 263 Bote yef þe ilke uaderes stefhede hise strayny and ordayny. c 1530 Judic. Urines ii. xii. 41 Grete swellyng & betyng & stefnes at y⊇ breste. |
▪ IV. steeve, v.1 Naut.
(stiːv)
Also 7 steve, 8 steave, stive, 9 stave.
[Of obscure origin.
Usually explained as f. steeve a., on the ground that a tilted bowsprit is ‘steeve’ or incapable of motion; but this seems unlikely. A connexion with OF. estive ploughtail (:—L. stīva) would not be improbable with regard to the sense.]
intr. Of a bowsprit, etc.: To incline upwards at an angle instead of lying horizontally. Also trans. to set (a bowsprit) at a certain upward inclination.
| 1644 H. Manwayring Seamans Dict. 102 To Steve or Steving. Wee say the bold-sprit, or beake-head Steves, when it stands too upright, and not straight foreward enough. 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 74 Cat-heads..To steave in every Foot..2 inches. Ibid. 164 Steaving; when a Part rises from a horizontal Position, as in the Cathead, Bowsprit, and Knee of the Head. 1794 Act 34 Geo. III, c. 50 §7 The said Bowsprit to be steaved or elevated at least two Inches in every Foot from the straight Line of the Range of the Deck. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 31 Set off what the bowsprit stives. 1839 Marryat Phant. Ship viii, The bowsprit staved very much, and was to appearance almost as a fourth mast. 1897 Kipling Capt. Cour. iii, That yaller, dirty packet with her bowsprit steeved that way, she's the Hope of Prague. |
| transf. 1791 Smeaton Edystone L. §34 The rock stives from E. to W. 10 feet 11 inches in 24 feet. |
Hence ˈsteeving vbl. n.1 and ppl. a.
| 1664 E. Bushnell Compl. Ship-wright iii. 8 Then for the steeving of him, and rounding the Knee, a regard must be had to the lying of the Boltspreet. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Steeving, the elevation of a ship's bowsprit above the stem, or the angle which it makes with the horizon. 1791 Smeaton Edystone L. §6 The sloping (or stiving of the rocks as it is technically called). c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 153 Stiving, the elevation of a ship's cathead or bowsprit; or the angle which either makes with the horizon. 1893 F. M. Crawford Childr. King I. 6 The martinganes flatten in their jibs along their high steeving bowsprits and jib-booms. |
▪ V. steeve, v.2 Chiefly Naut.
(stiːv)
Also 8 steave, Sc. stieve, 9 steve.
[a. F. estiver or its source, Pr. estibar, Catal. stibar, Sp., Pg. estivar, corresp. to It. stivare to crowd, pack tightly:—L. stīpāre. Cf. the variant stive v.]
trans. To compress and stow (wool, cotton or other cargo) in a ship's hold, etc.; also to pack tightly. Hence ˈsteeving vbl. n.2
| 1482 Grant 30 Apr. in Cal. Patent Rolls (1901) 300 [An occupation called ‘le pressing’ or ‘stenyng’ (read steuyng = stevyng) of wools]. 1644 H. Manwayring Seamans Dict. 102 Also the Merchants call the stowing of their Cottons (which they force in with skrewes so much that the Decks will rise 6, or 8, inches) Steveing of Cottons. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag., Penalties & Forfeit. 5 [To] put, press, or steeve Wooll or Woollen Yarn into any Pipe, But, or Hogshead. 1709 M. Bruce Soul Confirm. 20 (Jam.), I am even like a sojourner with his knapsack on his back... I stieved the knapsack well. 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 89 As in Stowing (term'd Steaving) a Ship with Wool. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix, Each morning we went ashore, and..brought off as many hides as we could steeve in the course of the day. |
| absol. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix, All hands were called aboard to steeve. |
▪ VI. steeve, v.3 Sc.
(stiːv)
In 6 steve, 9 steave.
[f. steeve a.]
trans. To make ‘steeve’ or firm; to strengthen, fix, secure.
| 1554 Extracts Burgh Rec. Edin. (1871) II. 206 The bigging of the Tolbuith and steving of the geistis of the over hous thairof. 1877 W. Watson Unco Bit Want iii, (Jam. Suppl.) I steave up my temper-string gayly, An' whiles a bit verse I do chant. |