Definition of "stew"

And when he came to the chamber there as this lady was the dores of yron vnlocked and vnbolted / And so syr launcelot wente in to the chambre that was as hote as ony stewe / And there syr launcelot toke the fayrest lady by the hand / that euer he sawe / and she was naked as a nedelAnd when he came to the chamber thereas this lady was, the doors of iron unlocked and unbolted. And so Sir Launcelot went into the chamber that was as hot as any stew. And there Sir Launcelot took the fairest lady by the hand that ever he saw, and she was naked as a needle(please add an English translation of this quotation)

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI

[...] and the agrieved person shall doe more manly, to be extraordinary and singular in claiming the due right whereof he is frustrated, then to piece up his lost contentment by visiting the Stews, or stepping to his neighbours bed, which is the common shift in this mis-fortune, or els by suffering his usefull life to wast away and be lost under a secret affliction of an unconscionable size to humane strength.

1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce

And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews.

1681, John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel

Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews.

1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh

Although whores were permitted to sit at the door of the stew, they could not solicit in any way nor ‘chide or throw stones’ at passers-by.

1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 37

But it was so plotted betwixt the Lady, her Husband, and Bristol, that instead of that beauty, he had a notorious Stew sent him, and surely his carriage there was so lascivious...

1650, Anthony Weldon, The Court and Character of King James I

I noticed then that there was nothing to drink on the table but brandy, and nothing to eat but salted herrings, and a hot, sickly, highly peppered stew.

1870, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Wordsworth Classics, published 1998, page 367

It was used as a stew, so that the inhabitants of the castle could have fish on Fridays, and for this reason the architects had been careful not to let the drains and sewers run into it. It was stocked with fish every year.

1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter V, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, book I (The Sword in the Stone)

And then, working as a stew for American Airlines, Mo met another older man […] .

1975 November 3, Mordecai Richler, "The Perils of Maureen", New York, volume 8, number 44, page 8

" […] We want to know what he's going to be saying on his airplane.""I don't have the legs to dress up as a stew, doc. Besides, I never learned to do the tea ceremony, either."

1991, Tom Clancy, The Sum of All Fears‎, published 1992, page 480

Dallas was also becoming known as a "stew zoo" because so many flight attendants were relocating there to work for Southwest, Braniff, and American Airlines.

1992 January, Skip Hollandsworth, "Doing the Hustle", Texas Monthly, ISSN 0148-7736, volume 20, issue 1, page 52