stele

[ stee-lee, steel steel, stee-lee ]

noun

, plural ste·lai [stee, -lahy], ste·les [stee, -leez, steelz].

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.
3. (in ancient Rome) a burial stone.
4. Botany. the central cylinder or cylinders of vascular and related tissue in the stem, root, petiole, leaf, etc., of the higher plants.

stele

/ stiːl; ˈstiːlə; ˈstiːlɪ /

noun

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
3. See siphonostele, protostele
   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

stele

/ stēl,stē′lē /

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.

Derived Forms

• stelar, adjective

Other Words From

• ste·lar [stee, -ler], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stele¹

First recorded in 1810–20; from Greek stḗlē, akin to histánai “to make stand,” Latin stāre “to stand”; stand

Word History and Origins

Origin of stele¹

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

Example Sentences

The stele is shown by Lepsius in his Auswahl, Plate 9, and is the earliest example of a hieroglyphic inscription known.

From Project Gutenberg

Such an inscription is so far biographical, and a similar spirit may extend to the decorations of the stele and walls of the tomb.

From Project Gutenberg

At its further end, and always facing eastwards, stands the inscribed tablet or stele.

From Project Gutenberg

We see, then, that the stele is the one indispensable part of this complicated whole.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes this chamber is nothing more than a recess in the façade, a mere frame for the stele.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• gravestone
• headstone
• marker
• masterpiece
• mausoleum
• pillar
• shrine
• slab
• statue
• stone
• tablet
• testament
• tomb
• tombstone
• tribute