stela
Syllables: ste·la/ˈstiːlə/
stela noun: an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone.
Noun
stela (plural stelas or stelae or steles)
- An obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone.
- In the courts of the houses lie many round stelæ, or pillars, once placed on the graves of the Athenians.1776, R. Chandler, Trav. Greece, VIII 35
- He erected a stela, with an inscription in the sacred character, to commemorate his successes.1837, J. G. Wilkinson, Manners & Customs of the Anc. Egyptians, I ii 101
- Synonyms:
- stele
Examples of stela in a sentence
- The upright blocks or stelas are among the most curious parts of the present ruin.1876, S. Manning, Land of Pharaohs, section 203:
- A shore excursion had been arranged for the passengers who were interested in visiting the stelae of San Ignacio.1966, Paul Bowles, Up Above the World:
Synonyms of stela
Forms of stela
| plural | stelas |
|---|---|
| plural | stelae |
| plural | steles |
Origin of stela
From Latin stēla, from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē). Doublet of stele.
Words that rhyme with stela
Questions about stela
- What does stela mean?
- Stela means an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone.
- How do you use stela in a sentence?
- The upright blocks or stelas are among the most curious parts of the present ruin.
- What part of speech is stela?
- Stela is a noun.
- How do you pronounce stela?
- Stela is pronounced /ˈstiːlə/.
- What is the plural of stela?
- The plural of stela is stelas.
Words near stela in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: stela (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “stela.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/stela. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.