stele

[stee-lee, steel for 1–3; steel, stee-lee for 4]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stele ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ste·lai [stee-lahy] /ˈsti laɪ/, ste·les [stee-leez, steelz] /ˈsti liz, stilz/.

an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription or design and serving as a monument, marker, or the like.

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

(in ancient Rome) a burial stone.

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

Also stela (for defs 1–3).

Origin of stele

1810–20; < Greek stḗlē, akin to histánai to make stand, Latin stāre to stand

Related formsste·lar

[stee-ler] /ˈsti lər/, adjective

Can be confusedsteal steel stele

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for stele

ceremony, tombstone, statue, remembrance, headstone, plaque, mausoleum, stone, tablet, masterpiece, slab, pillar, testament, shrine, tomb, tribute, gravestone, marker, monument, obelisk

Examples from the Web for stele

Historical Examples of stele

The seuenthe (eighth), to stele nor depryue no mannes goodes by thefte.
Shakespeare Jest-Books;
Unknown
The Aristion stele may be taken as an example of the second order.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1
Various
Here there was formerly an altar; and a stele of Thtmosis IV.
History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The Present Time, Volume 12 (of 12)
S. Rappoport
Of the 282 laws once carved upon the stele, all are still legible.
The World's Progress, Vol. I (of X)
Various
On another, a later Egyptian stele, the tree of life is the sycamore.
Byways of Ghost-Land
Elliott O'Donnell

British Dictionary definitions for stele

stele

noun plural stelae (ˈstiːliː) or steles (ˈstiːlɪz, stiːlz)

an upright stone slab or column decorated with figures or inscriptions, common in prehistoric times

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

the conducting tissue of the stems and roots of plants, which is in the form of a cylinder, principally containing xylem, phloem, and pericycleSee also protostele, siphonostele

Also called (for senses 1, 2): stela (ˈstiːlə)

Derived Formsstelar (ˈstiːlə), adjective

Word Origin for stele

C19: from Greek stēlē; related to Greek histanai to stand, Latin stāre

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

Word Origin and History for stele

"upright slab," usually inscribed, 1820, from Greek stele "standing block, slab," from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)).

stele in Science

stele

[stēl, stē′lē]

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