noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/stəʊl/
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/stoʊl/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -əʊl
CMU ARPABET:S T OW1 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A garment consisting of a decorated band worn on the back of the neck, each end hanging over the chest, worn in ecclesiastical settings or sometimes as a part of graduation dress, corresponding to the Eastern epitrachelion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1994-1998, Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98, Multimedia Edition Certain robes indicate a position in the hierarchy; others correspond to function and may be worn by the same individual at different times. The most important vestment among the insignia [of the clergy] is the stole, the emblem of sacerdotal status, the origin of which is the ancient pallium. The stole originally was a draped garment, then a folded one with the appearance of a scarf, and, finally, in the 4th century, a scarf. As a symbol of jurisdictionin the Roman Empire, the supreme pontiff (the pope, or bishop of Rome) conferred it upon archbishops and, later, upon bishops, as emblematic of their sharing in the papal authority.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A scarf-like garment, often made of fur.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A stolon.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
simple past of steal
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, past
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
past participle of steal
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, colloquial, form-of, participle, past
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: scarf
History
Etymology
From Old English stole, from Latin stola, from Ancient Greek στολή (stolḗ, “stole, garment, equipment”); akin to stall. Doublet of stola.
From Latin stolō. Doublet of stolon.
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
