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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

stile.

A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/staɪl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass.

  2. A vertical component of a frame or panel, such as that of a door, window, or ladder.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *steygʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *stéygʰeti Proto-Germanic *stīganą Proto-West Germanic *stīgan Proto-West Germanic *-i Proto-West Germanic *stigi Proto-Indo-European *-lósder.? Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-tromder.? Proto-Germanic *-ilaz Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Germanic *-ō Proto-Germanic *ilō Proto-West Germanic *-ilu Proto-West Germanic *stigilu Old English stiġel Middle English stile English stile From Middle English stile, style, stiȝele, from Old English stiġel (“stile, set of steps for getting over a fence”), from Proto-West Germanic *stigilu, from Proto-Germanic *stigilō (“entry, entrance, overpass, device for climbing, stile”), equivalent to sty (“to ascend, climb”) + -le. Cognate with Dutch stegel (“stirrup”), Low German Stegel (“stile”), German Stiegel (“stile”).

noun/staɪl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Obsolete form of style.

    alt-of · obsolete
Where this word comes from

See the etymology at style.

verb/staɪl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Obsolete form of style.

    alt-of · obsolete
Where this word comes from

See the etymology at style.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.