Meaning and Origin
What does the name Steward mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Steward
User Submitted Origins
English
50%
Scottish
29%
German
14%
Indian (Sanskrit)
7%
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Stew"ard
Senses
- A man employed in a large family, or on a large estate, to manage the domestic concerns, supervise other servants, collect the rents or income, keep accounts, and the like."Worthy to be stewards of rent and land." [Chaucer.]"They came near to the steward of Joseph's house." [Gen. xliii. 19.]"As good stewards of the manifold grace of God." [1 Pet. iv. 10.]
- A person employed in a hotel, or a club, or on board a ship, to provide for the table, superintend the culinary affairs, etc. In naval vessels, the captain's steward, wardroom steward, steerage steward, warrant officers steward, etc., are petty officers who provide for the messes under their charge.
- A fiscal agent of certain bodies; as, a steward in a Methodist church.
- In some colleges, an officer who provides food for the students and superintends the kitchen; also, an officer who attends to the accounts of the students.
- In Scotland, a magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands.
Etymology: OE. stiward, AS. stīweard stigweard, literally, a sty ward; stigu sty + weard warden, guardian, -- his first duty having been probably to attend to the domestic animals. √164. See Sty pen for swine, Ward
verb Stew"ard
To manage as a steward.
Other Dictionary Sources
- One having charge of buildings or grounds or animals
- A union member who is elected to represent fellow workers in negotiating with management
- Someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
- An attendant on an airplane
- The ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements
Wiktionary
From Middle English steward, from Old English stīweard, stīġweard (“steward, housekeeper, one who has the superintendence of household affairs, guardian”), from stīġ in the sense house, hall + weard (“ward, guard, guardian, keeper”). Compare Icelandic stívarður (“steward”). More at sty, ward.
- A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity, particularly (historical) the chief administrator of a medieval manor.
- A ship's officer who is in charge of making dining arrangements and provisions.
- A flight attendant, (chiefly) a male flight attendant.
- A union member who is selected as a representative for fellow workers in negotiating terms with management.
- A person who has charge of buildings and/or grounds and/or animals.
- A fiscal agent of certain bodies.
- a in a Methodist church
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- In some colleges, an officer who provides food for the students and superintends the kitchen; also, an officer who attends to the accounts of the students.
- In Scotland, a magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands.
- In information technology, somebody who is responsible for managing a set of projects, products or technologies and how they affect the IT organization to which they belong.
steward was also found in the following language(s): French and Romanian