Meanings
- Northumbriauncountablestone
Huge abutments o' styen, aw think they are call'd
1827, T. Thompson, quoting "A Pitman", “Shields Chain Bridge”, in A Collection of Songs, Comic, Satirical, and Descriptive, Chiefly in the Newcastle Dialect: And Illustrative of the Language and Manners of the Common People on the Banks of the Tyne and Neighbourhood, page 1093 more examples
Ye wad thought his feet was myed o' styen, He gaw sic thuds wi' dancin-o
1827, T. Thompson, “Wreckenton Hiring”, in A Collection of Songs, Comic, Satirical, and Descriptive, Chiefly in the Newcastle Dialect: And Illustrative of the Language and Manners of the Common People on the Banks of the Tyne and Neighbourhood, page 200Te kill a fish, or owt else, thoo Must hev a heart o' styen, man
1876, James Armstrong, "Wanny Blossoms": A Book of Song : with a Brief Treatise on Fishing, Fly, Worm, and Roe, page 48He's warked as debbity an' been night lost— Haaf barried under sum greet faall o' styen
1891, The Monthly Chronicle of North Country Lore and Legend, page 209
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*stainaz
- Old Englishstān
- Northern Middle Englishstan
- Englishstyen
From Northern Middle English stan, stane, from Old English stān, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz. Cognate with German Stein, Swedish sten, Dutch steen.
More words from Northern Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
styen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/styen
“styen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/styen. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “styen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/styen.
Source: styen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.