STELE (stelae)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: stelae   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stele mean? 

• STELE (noun)
  The noun STELE has 2 senses:

1. the usually cylindrical central vascular portion of the axis of a vascular plant

2. an ancient upright stone slab bearing markings

  Familiarity information: STELE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STELE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The usually cylindrical central vascular portion of the axis of a vascular plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("stele" is a kind of...):

vascular tissue (tissue that conducts water and nutrients through the plant body in higher plants)

Holonyms ("stele" is a part of...):

axis (the main stem or central part about which plant organs or plant parts such as branches are arranged)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An ancient upright stone slab bearing markings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

stela; stele

Hypernyms ("stele" is a kind of...):

antiquity (an artifact surviving from the past)

stone (building material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose)

Instance hyponyms:

Rosetta Stone (a part of an inscribed granite stela that was originally about six feet tall and was set up in 196 BC; the inscriptions in hieroglyphics and Demotic and Greek gave the first clues to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics)