Meanings
- figurativelyliterallyliterarynot comparableMade of steel.
But it was still the eyes that Quill came back to, for they coveted a natural intelligence and a steelen resolve.
2006, Steve Albert, Vengeance, page 1621 more example
At three-thirty a hush fell on the scene and the quiet swish of the warm waves, smacking in resonance the steelen sides, alone gave sound, a sleep-bringing lullaby dear to the soul of every sailor.
1908, Alan Hughes Burgoyne, The War Inevitable, page 64
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*stahlīn
- Old Englishstīelen“made of steel”
- Middle Englishstelen
- Englishsteelen
From Middle English stelen, from Old English stīelen (“made of steel”), from Proto-West Germanic *stahlīn. By surface analysis, steel + -en.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
steelen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelen
“steelen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelen. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “steelen,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/steelen.
Source: steelen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.