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Style

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style¹

  • /staɪl/ US, UK
  • /staɪ.əl/

Sounds like stile, Styal · Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English stile (“writing tool; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression; demeanour; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”) (compare semantic development to по́черк (póčerk, “handwriting, style”)), from Old French estile, or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument; writing tool; composition; characteristic mode of expression; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Cognates

*Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”)

* German Stiel (“handle; stalk”)

* Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”)

* Occitan estil

* Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”)

* Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”).

noun styles · stile · stylee

  1. countable, historical, uncountable A sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen. Thus while his Thoughts the lingring Day beguile, / To gentle Arcite let us turn our Style; [...]
  2. countable, uncountable A tool with a sharp point used in engraving; a burin, a graver, a stylet, a stylus. From Job xix. 24. it appears to have been usual in his day, to write or engrave upon Plates of Lead, which might easily be done with a Pen, or Graver, or Style of Iron, or other hard metal.
  3. countable, uncountable The gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour. Laſt of all fit a Triangular Iron, whoſe angular point being laid to the Center of the Dyal Plane, one ſide muſt agree with the Subſtilar Line, and its other ſide with the Stilar Line; ſo is the Stile made. And this Stile you muſt erect perpendicularly over the Subſtilar Line on the Dyal Plane, and
  4. countable, uncountable The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower. The calyx of Theophraſta is a ſmall, permanent perianthium, divided into five obtuſe ſegments, making obtuſe angles alſo with one another: [...] the ſtyle is ſubulated, and ſhorter than the corolla: the ſtigma is acute.
  5. countable, uncountable A kind of surgical instrument with a blunt point, used for exploration.
  6. countable, uncountable A small, thin, pointed body part.
  7. countable, uncountable A long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region. the anal styles of insects
  8. broadly, countable, uncountable A particular manner of expression in writing or speech, especially one regarded as good. May I not vvrite in such a ſtile as this? / In ſuch a method too, and yet not miſs / Mine end, thy good? vvhy may it not be done?
  9. broadly, countable, uncountable A legal or traditional term or formula of words used to address or refer to a person, especially a monarch or a person holding a post or having a title. Near-synonyms: term of address, form of address, title
  10. broadly, countable, uncountable A style name.
  11. countable, uncountable A particular manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art. [T]here are two distinct styles in history painting; the grand, and the splendid or ornamental. The great style stands alone, and does not require, perhaps does not so well admit, any addition from inferior beauties. The ornamental style also possesses its own peculiar merit. However, though the uni
  12. countable, uncountable A particular manner of acting or behaving; (specifically) one regarded as fashionable or skilful; flair, grace. As a dancer, he has a lot of style.
  13. countable, uncountable A particular way in which one grooms, adorns, dresses, or carries oneself; (specifically) a way thought to be attractive or fashionable.
  14. countable, uncountable A visual or other modification to text or other elements of a document, such as boldface or italics. applying styles to text in a wordprocessor  Cascading Style Sheets
  15. countable, uncountable A set of rules regarding the presentation of text (spelling, typography, the citation of references, etc.) and illustrations that is applied by a publisher to the works it produces. the house style of the journal

verb styles · styling · styled · stile

  1. transitive To design, fashion, make, or arrange in a certain way or form (style).
  2. formal, transitive To call or give a name or title to. The pope is styled His or Your Holiness.
  3. informal, transitive To create for, or give to, someone a style, fashion, or image, particularly one which is regarded as attractive, tasteful, or trendy.
  4. US, informal, intransitive To act in a way which seeks to show that one possesses style.

style²

Where it comes from

See etymology at stile.

noun styles · stile

  1. obsolete Obsolete form of stile "Well, ma'am, I crossed over the style that 's there yet, and went along fair and easy, till I was near about the middle of the field, when something made me cast my eyes to the ground, a little before me[.]"

Style³

Where it comes from

Blend of Stan + Kyle.

proper noun

  1. slang The ship of characters Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski from the South Park series.

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