stele

[ stee-lee, steel for 1-3; steel, stee-lee for 4 ]
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noun,plural ste·lai [stee-lahy], /ˈsti laɪ/, ste·les [stee-leez, steelz]. /ˈsti liz, stilz/.
  1. an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription or design and serving as a monument, marker, or the like.

  2. Architecture. a prepared surface on the face of a building, a rock, etc., bearing an inscription or the like.

  1. (in ancient Rome) a burial stone.

  2. Botany. the central cylinder or cylinders of vascular and related tissue in the stem, root, petiole, leaf, etc., of the higher plants.

Origin of stele

1
First recorded in 1810–20; from Greek stḗlē, akin to histánai “to make stand,” Latin stāre “to stand”; see stand
  • Also ste·la [stee-luh] /ˈsti lə/ (for defs. 1-3).

Other words from stele

  • ste·lar [stee-ler], /ˈsti lər/, adjective

Words that may be confused with stele

Words Nearby stele

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How to use stele in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stele

stele

/ (ˈstiːlɪ, stiːl) /


nounplural stelae (ˈstiːliː) or steles (ˈstiːlɪz, stiːlz)
  1. an upright stone slab or column decorated with figures or inscriptions, common in prehistoric times

  2. a prepared vertical surface that has a commemorative inscription or design, esp one on the face of a building

  1. the conducting tissue of the stems and roots of plants, which is in the form of a cylinder, principally containing xylem, phloem, and pericycle: See also protostele, siphonostele

Origin of stele

1
C19: from Greek stēlē; related to Greek histanai to stand, Latin stāre
  • Also called (for senses 1, 2): stela (ˈstiːlə)

Derived forms of stele

  • stelar (ˈstiːlə), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for stele

stele

[ stēl, stē ]


  1. The central core of primary vascular tissues in the stem or root of a vascular plant, consisting of xylem and phloem together with pith.

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