stevedore

[ Sp.estivador =a packer of wool at shearing, from estivar =to stow, to lay up cargo in a ship's hold, to compre wool, from Lat. stipo =to crowd or pre together. Cf. Sp. estiva; Fr. estive the stowage of goods in a ship's hold; Port. estivar to trim a ship; Ital. stivare = to pre close.] One whose occupation is to stow goods, packages, ., in a ship's hold; one who loads or unloads ve els. *stěv-en, s . [A. S. stefn; Icel. stefna the voice, a cry.) 1. A voice. "So loude crieden they with mery steven." Chaucer: C. Т., 2,564. 2. A cry, an outcry, a clamor, noise. "And had not Roffy renne to the steven, Lowder had been slain thilke same even." Spenser: Shepherd's Calendar; Sept. 3. An appointment; an appointed place or time. "Al day meteth men at unset steven." Chaucer: C. Т. , 1,526.