Definitions of stern:

• noun:   the rear part of a ship
• noun:   United States concert violinist (born in Russia in 1920)
• noun:   the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
• adjective:   severe and unremitting in making demands

  Example: "A stern disciplinarian"

• adjective:   of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect

  Example: "A stern face"

• adjective:   not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty

  Example: "The stern demands of parenthood"

• name:  A surname (common: 1 in 12500 families; popularity rank in the U.S.: #1643)