stencil
[sten-suh l]
- a device for applying a pattern, design, words, etc., to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of cardboard, metal, or other material from which figures or letters have been cut out, a coloring substance, ink, etc., being rubbed, brushed, or pressed over the sheet, passing through the perforations and onto the surface.
- the letters, designs, etc., produced on a surface by this method.
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- to mark or paint (a surface) by means of a stencil.
- to produce (letters, figures, designs, etc.) by means of a stencil.
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Origin of stencil
1375–1425; earlier stanesile, late Middle English stansele to ornament with diverse colors or spangles < Middle French estanceler, derivative of estencele a spark, ornamental spangle < Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathetic variant of Latin scintilla scintilla
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for stencil
Contemporary Examples
Gordon picked up a pair secondhand and began to stencil then onto blank canvases with spray paint.
Kim Gordon: Going Solo After Sonic Youth, and Why She Identifies With ‘Girls’Andrew Romano
April 10, 2014
As the microbes moved toward the light to carry out photosynthesis, they projected the image of the stencil.
A Banksyesque stencil of Einstein carries a sign bearing the most unBanksyesque: message LOVE IS THE ANSWER.
Historical Examples
You should have a set of stencil letters and mark every battery you rebuild or repair.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
Often, too, they were coloured by stencil plates or freely by hand.
Wood-Block PrintingF. Morley Fletcher
When it is to be used with a stencil it must be made thicker than when it is used with a brush.
One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men RevealedC. A. Bogardus
Then the stencil had to be taken from the roller that the latter might be inked again.
The Invention of LithographyAlois Senefelder
Only the parts unprotected by the stencil will take the colour.
The Decoration of LeatherGeorges de Rcy
stencil
- a device for applying a design, characters, etc, to a surface, consisting of a thin sheet of plastic, metal, cardboard, etc in which the design or characters have been cut so that ink or paint can be applied through the incisions onto the surface
- a decoration, design, or characters produced in this way
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- to mark (a surface) with a stencil
- to produce (characters or a design) with a stencil
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Word Origin
C14 stanselen to decorate with bright colours, from Old French estenceler, from estencele a spark, from Latin scintilla
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 stencil
n.
1707, not recorded again until 1848, probably from Middle English stencellen "decorate with bright colors," from Middle French estenceler "cover with sparkles or stars, powder with color," from estencele "spark, spangle," from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathesis of Latin scintilla "spark."
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v.
"to produce a design with a stencil," 1861, from stencil (n.). Related: Stenciled; stenciling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper