stela

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

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

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.

• stele

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈstɛla]

stela

1. masculine singular present transgressive of stlát

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

• Audio:

  (file)

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?

• stuldur

• þjófur
• þjófóttur
• þýfi

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

stēla f (genitive stēlae); first declension

1. column, pillar

First-declension noun.

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

• “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.

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

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

2. alternative form of stēlla (“star”)

First-declension noun.

• see: stēlla

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

• stele
• stållå (Trøndelag dialect)

Inherited from Old Norse stela, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną. Compare Icelandic stela, Danish stjæle, Norwegian Bokmål stjele, Swedish stjäla, Faroese stjala.

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

• knabba
• naska
• rappa

• “stela” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /ˈste.lɑ/

stela m

1. stalk (of a plant)

Weak:

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

From Proto-West Germanic *stelan, whence also Old English stelan, Old Saxon stelan, Old High German stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną, whence Old Norse stela.

stela

1. to steal

• West Frisian: stelle

• stjala

From Proto-Germanic *stelaną, whence also Old English stelan, Old Frisian stela, Old Saxon stelan, Old High German stelan, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (stilan).

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

• 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

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

• Audio:

  (file)

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

Learned borrowing from Latin stēla.

stela f

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

(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.

stela (not comparable)

1. (Near Masovian) synonym of stamtąd

   Coordinate term: stamtela

2. (Far Masovian) synonym of stąd

   Coordinate term: stela

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

• stela in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Zygmunt Wasilewski (1889) “stela”, in Jagodne: wieś w powiecie łukowskim, gminie Dąbie: zarys etnograficzny (in Polish), Warsaw: M. Arct, page 247

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɛ.la/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Syllabification: ste‧la

stela (not comparable)

1. (Cieszyn) synonym of stōnd

   Synonyms: tustela, samstōnd

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

stela

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

stela f (plural stele)

1. obsolete spelling of steła (“star”)