stela

noun

ste·la ˈstē-lə

variants or stele

ˈstē-lē

plural stelae ˈstē-(ˌ)lē

or steles

: a usually carved or inscribed stone slab or pillar used for commemorative purposes

Examples of stela in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The stela’s goal was multifold: To lay out the laws of the land clearly for citizens, but also to establish Hammurabi as law-giver and judge even after his death. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2020 Scholars began searching for physical evidence of the realm only in 1994, when epigraphers reading a stela — found a century earlier at a dig in Guatemala — realized that a glyph described the capture of a Sak Tz’i’ king in 628 A.D. —

Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022 The coronations of new kings, as well as the end of k’atuns and other auspicious dates, were also recorded on stela. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 21 Dec. 2020 So naturally a petition has started to return the stela to Egypt, where it was discovered by the French during Napoleon’s invasion in 1799 before being traded to the British and shipped to England. —

The Editorial Board, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2022 Not only have times significantly changed but, in the great Ford outdoors, a stela from a Theosophical Society pilgrimage placed a century ago could easily be imagined buried on the hillside. —

Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2022 An Egyptian stela dating from more than four and a half thousand years ago, now in the collection of the Louvre, depicts the Princess Nefertiabet dressed in what looks like elegant contemporary evening wear. —

Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2022 The standing stone—also known as a stele, or stela—measures 91 inches long and 41 inches wide. —

Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 June 2021 Among the crosses were a dozen stone slabs, resembling stela. —

New York Times, 28 Feb. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stela.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.