stover

S1T1O1V4E1R1
UK/ˈstəʊ.və/US/ˈstoʊ.vɚ/

noun

Fodder for cattle, especially straw or coarse hay.

OriginAnglo-Norman estovers ← Middle English estover →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

stover1

nounstover (countable and uncountable, plural stovers)

plural stovers

  1. countableuncountableFodder for cattle, especially straw or coarse hay.

    Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep, And flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep; […]

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]
  2. countableuncountableStalks and leaves, not including grain, of certain forages

    Even second-generation biofuels, made from crop wastes or wood, are an environmental disaster, either extending the cultivated area or removing the straw and stovers which protect the soil from erosion and keep carbon and nutrients in the ground.

    2012 August 24, George Monbiot, Guardian Weekly, page 20

Stover2

proper nounStover (plural Stovers)

plural Stovers

  1. A surname from German.

Origin

stover · noun

  1. Middle Englishestover“allowance”
  2. Anglo-Normanestovers“necessities”
  3. Englishstover

From Anglo-Norman estovers (“necessities”) via Middle English estover (“allowance”), ultimately from Latin est opus (“there is need”). Compare estover.

More words from Anglo-Norman, Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Stover · proper noun

  1. GermanStöver
  2. EnglishStover

Borrowed from German Stöver.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hungarian takarmány, kóró
  • takarmánycoarse fodder for cattle
  • kóróstalks
Polish ściernisko, pędy i liście roślin uprawnych
  • ścierniskocoarse fodder for cattle
  • pędy i liście roślin uprawnychstalks
Cite this entry
APA

stover. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stover

MLA

“stover.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stover. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stover,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stover.

Source: stover on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.