Meaning

noun someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else

noun the ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements

noun an attendant on an airplane

originFrom Middle English steward, stiward, from Old English stiġweard (“steward, housekeeper, one who has the superintendence of household affairs, guardian”), from stiġ (“a wooden enclosure; house, hall”) + weard (“ward, guard, guardian, keeper”), equivalent to sty + ward. Compare Icelandic stívarður (“steward”). More at sty, ward.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0