stencil English · revision 1556

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1707}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈstɛnsɪl/ ''(UK)''; /ˈstɛnsəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It probably comes, via an unrecorded intermediate form, [[inh|enm|stencellen|t=to ornament with bright colours]] (before 1400),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|frm|estenceler|t=to cover with sparkles, powder with colour]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) from [[m|frm|estencele|t=spark, spangle]] (modern [[fr|étincelle]]),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-vul|*stincilla]], an alteration by metathesis of [[la|scintilla|t=spark]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Weekley doubted the link, as the noun is isolated in 1707 and not met again until the 19th century, and suggested instead obsolete [[nl|stemsel]], a shoemaker's form.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a Middle English verb, to ornament with bright colours or pieces of precious metal (before 1420 in the OED);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) as a noun, a thin sheet cut with a pattern, recorded in 1707 in the making of playing cards, as ''stanesile''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The old ornamental verb went out of use,^(OED 1989) and the noun is not met again until 1848.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The modern verb, to produce a design or mark a surface with a stencil, is from the noun (1833–61).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The noun then extended to the design produced (1899) and to the colouring matter used (1853),^(OED 1989) and in the 20th century to the waxed master sheet used in a [[mimeograph]].^(RHWU)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1420 – verb, to ornament with bright colours (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1707 – noun, ''stanesile'', a pattern sheet.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – verb, to mark a surface with a stencil.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1848 – noun ''stencil''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1861 – verb, to produce a design by stencil.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1899 – a design produced by stencilling.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thin sheet of cardboard, plastic or metal in which letters or a design are cut, so that ink or paint applied over it reproduces the pattern on the surface beneath.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The lettering or design produced with such a sheet.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The process of printing with a stencil.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A waxed master sheet used in a [[mimeograph]].^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To mark or paint a surface with a stencil.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To produce letters or a design with a stencil.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stenciler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scintilla]]

+ * [[tinsel]]

+ * [[scintillate]]

+ * [[template]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}