Etymologically
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style

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 14:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /staɪl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English stile, borrowed from Old French stile, estile (“stake; style, fashion”),[2][3][4] from Latin stilus (“stake; pointed instrument for writing on wax; manner of writing”),[2][3][5] perhaps from the same source as stick.[2][6] The spelling with y is due to association with Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “pillar”), which is probably not related.[2][7][6] stylus is a later borrowing of the Latin word.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A designation or title: before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi,[3] and in the early 14th century also a writing instrument and a piece of writing.[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline traces the sense from “writing tool” to “writing”, to “manner of writing”, to a writer's manner of expression, by the early 14th century,[2] and Barnhart dates “manner of expression” to before 1338, in Mannyng.[3] It then spread to modes of expression in other activities, to a distinctive manner of presentation, and to any particular form, by the late 18th century.[2] Style contrasted with substance is by the 1570s, style alone meaning “good style” by the 1580s, and “fine appearance” by 1807.[2] An artist's particular mode is from 1706, a kind or sort by 1794, and a fashion of dress from 1814.[2] The verb meant “to address with a title” about 1500 and “to name” from the 1560s;[2] “to arrange in a fashionable style”, especially hair, is by 1934.[2] The pin of a sundial and the part of a flower's pistil are also styles.[9][4]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – a title (Cursor Mundi).[3]
  • early 14th century – a manner of writing.[2]
  • c. 1500 – verb, to address by title.[2]
  • 1570s – contrasted with substance.[2]
  • 1706 – an artist's style.[2]
  • 1814 – a fashion of dress.[2]
  • 1934 – verb, to style hair.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The way in which something is said, done or performed; manner.
  2. The distinctive features of the expression of a person, group or period in art or literature.
  3. Elegance, flair; a fashion, especially in dress.
  4. A sort or type.
  5. The rules of spelling, punctuation and typography followed by a publisher.
  6. A stylus; the pin of a sundial; part of a flower's pistil.

Verb

  1. To call or name; to designate.
  2. To give style to; to arrange fashionably.
  3. To make consistent with rules of style.

Word family

  • styler
  • styling
  • stylist
  • stylus
  • stylish
  • stylistic
  • stiletto
  • stimulus
  • stick

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)