Etymology

stile

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Today it means: A set of one or more steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows people but not livestock to pass. Full definition →

Middle English stile ← Old English stiġel ← Proto-West Germanic *stigilu
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stile · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*steygʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*stéygʰeti
  3. Proto-Germanic*stīganą
  4. Proto-West Germanic*stīgan
  5. Proto-West Germanic*stigi
  6. Proto-Germanic*ilō
  7. Proto-West Germanic*stigilu
  8. Old Englishstiġel
  9. Middle Englishstile
  10. English todaystile

From Middle English stile, style, stiȝele, from Old English stiġel (“stile, set of steps for getting over a fence”), from Proto-West Germanic *stigilu, from Proto-Germanic *stigilō (“entry, entrance, overpass, device for climbing, stile”), equivalent to sty (“to ascend, climb”) + -le. Cognate with Dutch stegel (“stirrup”), Low German Stegel (“stile”), German Stiegel (“stile”).

stile · noun, verb2

See the etymology at style.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishstiġel all →

Stickley

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.