stole English · revision 6366

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 950|origins=grc στολή}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stəʊl/ ''(UK)''; /stoʊl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|stole|t=long robe; clergyman's scarf]], an early borrowing, [[bor|la|stola|t=robe, vestment]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[grc|στολή|tr=stolḗ|t=equipment, clothing; a long robe]], from the root of [[m|grc|στέλλω|tr=stéllō|t=to place, array, make ready]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A long robe, in translations of the Vulgate: about 950, in the Lindisfarne Gospels.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The long robe of classical antiquity is from 1387.^(OED 1989) A woman's long scarf or wrap of fur or fabric, shaped like the church stole, is from 1889.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – a long robe.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1025 – a priest's vestment.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – a woman's scarf or wrap.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A woman's long scarf or shawl, often of fur, worn round the shoulders.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long narrow strip of fabric worn over the shoulders by priests during services.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stola]]

+ * [[stall]]

+ * [[apostle]]

+ * [[epistle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Stole'' is also the past tense of [[steal]], from Old English stelan.^(Collins 2023)^(NODE 1998) A separate historical word stole, a variant of [[stool]], survives in the court title ''groom of the stole''.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}