stela

See also: Stela, stéla, štela, steła, stéła, and stèła

English

Etymology

From Latin stēla, from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē). Doublet of stele.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstiːlə/
• Rhymes: -iːlə
• Hyphenation: ste‧la

Noun

stela (plural stelas or stelae or steles)

1. (archaeology) an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone
   • 1776, R. Chandler, Trav. Greece, VIII 35:

     In the courts of the houses lie many round stelæ, or pillars, once placed on the graves of the Athenians.

   • 1837, J. G. Wilkinson, Manners & Customs of the Anc. Egyptians, I ii 101:

     He erected a stela, with an inscription in the sacred character, to commemorate his successes.

   • 1876, S. Manning, Land of Pharaohs, section 203:

     The upright blocks or stelas are among the most curious parts of the present ruin.

   • 1893, E. A. T. W. Budge, Mummy, section 30:

     Thothmes I. set up two stelæ near the Euphrates.

   • 1966, Paul Bowles, Up Above the World:

     A shore excursion had been arranged for the passengers who were interested in visiting the stelae of San Ignacio.

Synonyms

• stele

Translations

archaeology: an obelisk or upright stone pillar — see stele

Anagrams

• setal, steal, ETLAs, tesla, telas, Astle, tales, least, Tesla, salet, slate, Teals, Slate, Sleat, lates, leats, 'least, laste, teals, stale, taels

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈstɛla]

Verb

stela

1. masculine singular present transgressive of stlát

Related terms

• stelouc

Icelandic

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *stelaną

Old Norse stela

Icelandic stela

Inherited from Old Norse stela, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

stela (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative stal, third-person plural past indicative stálu, supine stolið)

1. to steal [with dative]

   Hver stal kökunni úr krúsinni í gær?

   Who stole the cookie from the jar last night?

Derived terms

• stela frá (“to rob someone”)
• stela undan (“to misappropriate, to embezzle”)
• stelast
• stelast burt
• stelast til

Related terms

• stuldur

See also

• þjófur
• þjófóttur
• þýfi

Latin

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē, “block of stone”).

Noun

stēla f (genitive stēlae); first declension

1. column, pillar

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	stēla	stēlae
genitive	stēlae	stēlārum
dative	stēlae	stēlīs
accusative	stēlam	stēlās
ablative	stēlā	stēlīs
vocative	stēla	stēlae

Descendants

• → English: stela (learned)
• → Galician: estela (learned)
• → Italian: stela (learned)
• → Polish: stela (learned)
• → Portuguese: estela (learned)
• → Spanish: estela (learned)

References

• “stela”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “stela”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Etymology 2

Derived from simplification of the geminate ll due to the preceding long vowel. Attested in the Anonymous Valesianus II.

Noun

stēla f (genitive stēlae); first declension (Late Latin)

2. alternative form of stēlla (“star”)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	stēla	stēlae
genitive	stēlae	stēlārum
dative	stēlae	stēlīs
accusative	stēlam	stēlās
ablative	stēlā	stēlīs
vocative	stēla	stēlae

Descendants

• see: stēlla

References

• Adams, James Noel. 1976. The text and language of a Vulgar Latin chronicle (Anonymous Valesianus II). London: Institute of Classical Studies. Page 34.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• stele
• stållå (Trøndelag dialect)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *stelaną

Old Norse stela

Norwegian Nynorsk stela

Inherited from Old Norse stela, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną.

Verb

stela (present tense stel, past tense stal, past participle stole, passive infinitive stelast, present participle stelande, imperative stel)

1. to steal (illegally take possession of)

   Nokon har stole bilen min!

   Someone has stolen my car!

2. to consume, take

   Dette arbeidet stel all fritida mi.

   This work takes all of my spare time.

3. to achieve or gain something by tricking someone or something

Synonyms

• knabba
• naska
• rappa

References

• “stela” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈste.lɑ/

Noun

stela m

1. stalk (of a plant)

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	stela	stelan
accusative	stelan	stelan
genitive	stelan	stelena
dative	stelan	stelum

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “stela”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old Frisian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *stelaną

Proto-West Germanic *stelan

Old Frisian stela

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną.

Verb

stela

1. to steal

Descendants

• West Frisian: stelle

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• stjala

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *stelaną

Old Norse stela

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *stelaną.

Verb

stela (singular past indicative stal, plural past indicative stálu, past participle stolinn)

1. to steal [with dative]
2. to rob [with accusative]
   • 9th century, Þrymskviða
     • áss es stolinn hamri

       the god has been robbed of his hammer

Conjugation

Conjugation of stela — active (strong class 4)

infinitive	stela
present participle	stelandi
past participle	stolinn
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	stel	stal		stela	stæla
2nd person singular	stelr	stalt		stelir	stælir
3rd person singular	stelr	stal		steli	stæli
1st person plural	stelum	stálum		stelim	stælim
2nd person plural	stelið	stáluð		stelið	stælið
3rd person plural	stela	stálu		steli	stæli
imperative	present
2nd person singular	stel
1st person plural	stelum
2nd person plural	stelið

Conjugation of stela — mediopassive (strong class 4)

infinitive	stelask
present participle	stelandisk
past participle	stolizk
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	stelumk	stálumk		stelumk	stælumk
2nd person singular	stelsk	stalzk		stelisk	stælisk
3rd person singular	stelsk	stalsk		stelisk	stælisk
1st person plural	stelumsk	stálumsk		stelimsk	stælimsk
2nd person plural	stelizk	stáluzk		stelizk	stælizk
3rd person plural	stelask	stálusk		stelisk	stælisk
imperative	present
2nd person singular	stelsk
1st person plural	stelumsk
2nd person plural	stelizk

Descendants

• Icelandic: stela
• Faroese: stjala
• Norwegian Nynorsk: stela, stele
• Jamtish: stjæła
• Elfdalian: stjälå
• Old Swedish: stiæla, stæla, stiala
  • Swedish: stjäla
• Old Danish: stælæ, stialæ, stiælæ
  • Danish: stjæle
    • Norwegian Bokmål: stjele
  • Scanian: stjæla
• Gutnish: stjäle

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “stela”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Polish

stele

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛ.la/

• (Masovia):
  • (Near Masovian) IPA^(key): [ˈstɛ.la]
• (Lesser Poland):
  • (Western Lublin) IPA^(key): [ˈstɛ.lʲa]
  • (Eastern Lublin) IPA^(key): [ˈstɛ.lʲa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Syllabification: ste‧la
• Homophone: Stela

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin stēla.

Noun

stela f

1. (archaeology, sculpture) stele, stela (tall, slender stone monument)
2. (botany) stele (central core of the root and shoot system)

Declension

Declension of stela

	singular	plural
nominative	stela	stele
genitive	steli	stel
dative	steli	stelom
accusative	stelę	stele
instrumental	stelą	stelami
locative	steli	stelach
vocative	stelo	stele

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “compare the t- in stela for answer words to k- question words”)

Compare Silesian stela.

Adverb

stela (not comparable)

1. (Near Masovian) synonym of stamtąd

   Coordinate term: stamtela

2. (Far Masovian, Western Lublin, Eastern Lublin, Lublin Voivodeship) synonym of stąd

   Coordinate term: stela

   Nie można stela zaczynać. ― You can't start from here.

Further reading

• stela in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Zygmunt Wasilewski (1889), “stela”, in Jagodne: wieś w powiecie łukowskim, gminie Dąbie: zarys etnograficzny‎^[1] (in Polish), Warsaw: M. Arct, page 247
• Hieronim Łopaciński (1892), “stela”, in “Przyczynki do nowego słownika języka polskiego (słownik wyrazów ludowych z Lubelskiego i innych okolic Królestwa Polskiego)”, in Prace Filologiczne (in Polish), volume 4, Warsaw: skł. gł. w Księgarni E. Wende i Ska, page 251

Silesian

Etymology

Perhaps a univerbation of s +‎ tela. Compare Masovian Polish stela.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛ.la/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Syllabification: ste‧la

Adverb

stela (not comparable)

1. (Cieszyn) synonym of stōnd

   Synonyms: tustela, samstōnd

Related terms

adverbs

• potela
• tamstela
• tustela

Further reading

• Eugeniusz Kosmała (2023), “stela”, in Dykcjōnôrz Polsko-Ślonskiy (in Silesian), s, pages 4,125-126
• stela in silling.org

Swedish

Adjective

stela

1. inflection of stel:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

Venetan

Noun

stela f (plural stele)

1. obsolete spelling of steła (“star”)