Main Entry:

¹style

Pronunciation:

\ˈstī(-ə)l\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English stile, style, from Latin stilus spike, stem, stylus, style of writing; perhaps akin to Latin instigare to goad — more at stick

Date:

14th century

1: designation, title2 a: a distinctive manner of expression (as in writing or speech) <writes with more attention to style than to content> <the flowery style of 18th century prose> b: a distinctive manner or custom of behaving or conducting oneself <the formal style of the court> <his style is abrasive> ; also : a particular mode of living <in high style> c: a particular manner or technique by which something is done, created, or performed <a unique style of horseback riding> <the classical style of dance>3 a: stylus b: gnomon 1b c: the filiform usually elongated part of the pistil bearing a stigma at its apex — see flower illustration d: a slender elongated process (as a bristle) on an animal4: a distinctive quality, form, or type of something <a new dress style> <the Greek style of architecture>5 a: the state of being popular : fashion <clothes that are always in style> b: fashionable elegance c: beauty, grace, or ease of manner or technique <an awkward moment she handled with style>6: a convention with respect to spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and typographic arrangement and display followed in writing or printing

synonyms see fashion

— style·less \ˈstī(-ə)l-ləs\ adjective

— style·less·ness noun