steevel (stev)

[Sc., also stieve, stive, a var. of stiff, prob. due to Dan. stiv, stiff: see stiff.] Stiff; firm; unbending or unyielding. A filly buirdly, steeve , an' swank, An' set weel down a shapely shank As e'er tread yird. Burns , Auld Farmer's Salutation to his Auld Mare, steevel (stev), v. t.; pret. and pp. steered, ppr. steeving. [Also stiere; a var. of stivel, v. Cf. steevel, a.] To stiffen: as, to be steered with cold. Grose. [Prov. Eng.] steeve (stev), v.; pret. and pp. steered, ppr. steeving. [Appar. orig. 'be stiff' (a steeving bowsprit "being fixed stiff or firmly and immovably in the ve el, a horizontal one being movable"): see steeve2. Cf. Dan. stiver, a prop, stay, stivebjælke, a beam to prop with.] I. in trans. Naut., to project from the bows at an angle instead of horizontally: said of a bow sprit. IMG:content-2073.jpg:[blocks in formation]