Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Ecclesiastical A long scarf, usually of embroidered silk or linen, worn over the left shoulder by deacons and over both shoulders by priests and bishops while officiating.
  • noun An ornamental garment worn over both shoulders and tapering to a point in front and in back, worn especially by members of church choirs.
  • noun A woman's long scarf of cloth or fur worn about the shoulders.
  • noun A long robe or outer garment worn by matrons in ancient Rome.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as stolon.
  • noun An obsolete form of stool.
  • noun Preterit and obsolete past participle of steal.
  • noun A stola, or any garment of similar nature.
  • noun In the Roman Catholic, Oriental, and Anglican churches, an ecclesiastical vestment, consisting of a narrow strip of silk or other material, worn over the shoulders (by deacons over one shoulder) and hanging down in front to the knees or below them.
  • noun A chorister's surplice or cotta: an occasional erroneous use.
  • noun In heraldry, usually, a bearing representing a scarf with straight and parallel sides, fringed at each end.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • imp. of steal.
  • noun (Bot.) A stolon.
  • noun A long, loose garment reaching to the feet.
  • noun (Eccl.) A narrow band of silk or stuff, sometimes enriched with embroidery and jewels, worn on the left shoulder of deacons, and across both shoulders of bishops and priests, pendent on each side nearly to the ground. At Mass, it is worn crossed on the breast by priests. It is used in various sacred functions.
  • noun [Eng.] the first lord of the bedchamber in the royal household.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An ecclesiastical garment.
  • noun A scarf-like garment, often made of fur.
  • noun botany A stolon.
  • verb Simple past of steal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English, from Latin stola, garment, robe, from Greek stolē; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English stole, Latin stola, Ancient Greek στολή (stolē, "stole, garment, equipment"), from "to set", "place", "equip", "send", akin to English stall.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin stolo, -onis.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the verb to steal.

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Examples

  • In point of fact, the broad "stole" is really not a stole at all then, but is worn over the stole proper of the deacon -- similar to how it was wound up with it before.

    Use, History and Development of the "Planeta Plicata" or Folded Chasuble 2009

  • And a week ago, a judge ordered the same punishment for a man who stole from a candy shop, though that ruling can still be appealed.

    Iran Amputates Thief's Hand For Second Time In One Month The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • At least James Cameron was nice enough to put a giant windshield on the awesome Mechwarrior/Battletech suits that he stole from the baseball card company, Topps (originally the concept of the game company FASA created in 1986).

    Five Reasons Avatar Sucked | myFiveBest 2010

  • Spain stole my heart so much that I lived there twice and the second time almost ended up being indefinite.

    Sevilla. « 2009

  • He stole from the Federal Government, at a prodigal increase of salary, its star specialist in livestock breeding, and by similar misconduct he robbed the University of Nebraska of its greatest milch cow professor, and broke the heart of the Dean of the College of Agriculture of the University of California by appropriating Professor Nirdenhammer, the wizard of farm management.

    CHAPTER VI 2010

  • Police say an armed robber gave back everything he stole from a homeless man after learning he lives at a shelter.

    Robber Gives Stuff Back To Homeless Victim The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • DARLINGTON, S.C. During a weekend when many of NASCAR's greatest drivers couldn't tame the toughest track on the Sprint Cup circuit, Denny Hamlin stole the show with a sweep.

    Denny Hamlin earns Darlington sweep with Southern 500 win 2010

  • But I don't like the Bidwells, or the fact that the Cardinals still refuse to give up the championship they stole from the Pottsville Maroons.

    Wild Card Weekend grrm 2010

  • The only thought that comes to mind, is hold all those accountable who stole from the tax payers.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Raise our Taxes! 2010

  • One day, finding I had no paper to draw on, I stole from the attic a stack of exquisite flower-drawings, almost certainly by Ruskin himself, and proceeded to rub them out.

    An Interview with Diana Wynne Jones 2010

Comments

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  • the garment not the action

    July 25, 2007

  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

    Pronunciation: \ˈst�?l\

    Function: noun

    Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin stola, from Greek stolē equipment, robe, from stellein to set up, make ready

    Date: before 12th century

    1 : a long loose garment : robe

    2 : an ecclesiastical vestment consisting of a long usually silk band worn traditionally around the neck by bishops and priests and over the left shoulder by deacons

    3 : a long wide scarf or similar covering worn by women usually across the shoulders

    February 10, 2008