στήλη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• στᾱ́λᾱ (stā́lā) — Doric
• στᾱ́λλᾱ (stā́llā) — Aeolic
• στήλλη (stḗllē) — later Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *stl̥-n-eh₂, from *stel- (“to put, place”) (related to στέλλω (stéllō, “I set, arrange”)), with similarities to Old High German stollo. Alternatively derived from Proto-Indo-European *sth₂-sleh₂, from *steh₂- (“to stand”) (related to ἵστημι (hístēmi, “I stand”)); this latter derivation is favored by Beekes. Also compare στῦλος (stûlos, “pillar”) and στάλιξ (stálix, “stake”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /stɛ̌ː.lɛː/ → /ˈsti.li/ → /ˈsti.li/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /stɛ̌ː.lɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈste̝.le̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsti.li/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsti.li/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsti.li/

Noun

στήλη • (stḗlē) f (genitive στήλης); first declension

1. block of stone used as a prop or buttress to a wall
2. block or slab used as a memorial, monument
3. gravestone, tombstone
4. monument inscribed with record of victories, dedications or votes of thanks
5. post placed on mortgage ground, as a record of the fact
6. boundary post
7. block of rock crystal, in which Ethiopian mummies were allegedly cased

Inflection

First declension of ἡ στήλη; τῆς στήλης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ στήλη hē stḗlē	τὼ στήλᾱ tṑ stḗlā	αἱ στῆλαι hai stêlai
Genitive	τῆς στήλης tês stḗlēs	τοῖν στήλαιν toîn stḗlain	τῶν στηλῶν tôn stēlôn
Dative	τῇ στήλῃ têi stḗlēi	τοῖν στήλαιν toîn stḗlain	ταῖς στήλαις taîs stḗlais
Accusative	τὴν στήλην tḕn stḗlēn	τὼ στήλᾱ tṑ stḗlā	τᾱ̀ς στήλᾱς tā̀s stḗlās
Vocative	στήλη stḗlē	στήλᾱ stḗlā	στῆλαι stêlai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• στηλίδιον (stēlídion)
• στηλίον (stēlíon)
• στηλίς (stēlís)
• στηλιτεύω (stēliteúō)
• στηλίτης (stēlítēs)
• στηλοβάτης (stēlobátēs)
• στηλογραφέω (stēlographéō)
• στηλοειδής (stēloeidḗs)
• στηλοκοπέω (stēlokopéō)
• στηλοῦχος (stēloûkhos)
• στηλόω (stēlóō)
• στηλύδριον (stēlúdrion)
• στήλωμα (stḗlōma)
• στήλωσις (stḗlōsis)

 

Descendants

• → English: stele (learned)
• → Greek: στήλη (stíli) (learned)
• → Latin: stēla
  • → English: stela
  • → Galician: estela (learned)
  • → Polish: stela
  • → Portuguese: estela (learned)

Further reading

• “στήλη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “στήλη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “στήλη”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• στήλη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• στήλη in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • block idem, page 84.
  • column idem, page 144.
  • gravestone idem, page 371.
  • memorial idem, page 524.
  • monument idem, page 539.
  • pillar idem, page 613.
  • post idem, page 629.
  • slab idem, page 782.
  • stone idem, page 819.
  • table idem, page 851.
  • tablet idem, page 851.
  • tomb-stone idem, page 880.
  • turning idem, page 902.
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Greek

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē).

Noun

στήλη • (stíli) f (plural στήλες)

1. (architecture) column, stele
2. (chess) file

Declension

Declension of στήλη

	singular	plural
nominative	στήλη •	στήλες •
genitive	στήλης •	στηλών •
accusative	στήλη •	στήλες •
vocative	στήλη •	στήλες •

Synonyms

• κολώνα f (kolóna)