stole

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stəʊl/ (UK); /stoʊl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English stole (“long robe; clergyman's scarf”), an early borrowing, borrowed from Latin stola (“robe, vestment”),^[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek στολή (stolḗ, “equipment, clothing; a long robe”), from the root of στέλλω (stéllō, “to place, array, make ready”).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A long robe, in translations of the Vulgate: about 950, in the Lindisfarne Gospels.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The ecclesiastical vestment, a narrow strip of silk or linen worn over the shoulders and hanging down in front, is from about 1025.^[6][4] The long robe of classical antiquity is from 1387.^[6] A woman's long scarf or wrap of fur or fabric, shaped like the church stole, is from 1889.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 950 – a long robe.^[2][6]
• c. 1025 – a priest's vestment.^[6]
• 1889 – a woman's scarf or wrap.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A woman's long scarf or shawl, often of fur, worn round the shoulders.
2. A long narrow strip of fabric worn over the shoulders by priests during services.

Related words

• stola
• stall
• apostle
• epistle

Usage notes

Stole is also the past tense of steal, from Old English stelan.^[7][8] A separate historical word stole, a variant of stool, survives in the court title groom of the stole.^[9][5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press