steward Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
  2. noun the ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements
  3. noun an attendant on an airplane
    flight attendant.
  4. noun a union member who is elected to represent fellow workers in negotiating with management
    shop steward.
  5. noun one having charge of buildings or grounds or animals
    keeper; custodian.

WordNet

Stew"ard noun
Etymology
OE. stiward, AS. stiweard, 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.
Definitions
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. A fiscal agent of certain bodies; as, a steward in a Methodist church.
  4. 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.
  5. In Scotland, a magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands. Erskine.
Stew"ard transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To manage as a steward. Obs.

Webster 1913