Etymologically
Log in

stola

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈstɔ.ɫa][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstɔː.la][1]

Forms

stola f (genitive stolae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek στολή (stolḗ, “garment, equipment”), from στέλλω (stéllō, “to make ready”).[2][1][3] Isidore describes it as a matron's covering passed from the head and right side over the left shoulder.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Ennius, of clothing, as squālidā saeptus stolā “wrapped in a squalid robe”.[2][5] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant clothing, and a long upper garment, worn at first by anyone, as in Ennius and Ovid.[2][5] From Varro it was the robe of Roman married women, a mark of respectability, as in Cicero, and a robe worn by either sex in religious settings.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a robe, garment, and the stole, the long narrow vestment worn round the neck as a sign of priestly power.[7] Medieval Latin also used it for state apparel and the archbishop's pallium.[8] It survives in French étole and Spanish estola, and Old English stole gave English stole; English stola came in 1728.[1][9]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of clothing.[2][3]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the matron's robe.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the matron's robe.[6][3]
  • Old English – stole is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Clothing; a long robe.[2]
  2. The robe of a Roman matron.[2]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A stole.[7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) State apparel; the archbishop's pallium.[8]

Word family

  • stolātus
  • English stole
  • English stola

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com