stele

[stee-lee, steel for 1–3; steel, stee-lee for 4] /ˈsti li, stil for 1–3; stil, ˈsti li for 4/
noun, plural stelai
[stee-lahy] /ˈsti laɪ/ (Show IPA), steles
[stee-leez, steelz] /ˈsti liz, stilz/ (Show IPA)
1.
an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription or design and serving as a monument, marker, or the like.
2.
Architecture. a prepared surface on the face of a building, a rock, etc., bearing an inscription or the like.
3.
(in ancient Rome) a burial stone.
4.
Botany. the central cylinder or cylinders of vascular and related tissue in the stem, root, petiole, leaf, etc., of the higher plants.
Also, stela (for defs 1–3).
Origin
1810-20; < Greek stḗlē, akin to histánai to make stand, Latin stāre to stand
Related forms
stelar
[stee-ler] /ˈsti lər/ (Show IPA), adjective
Can be confused
steal, steel, stele.
Examples from the web for stele
  • Seedlings from this cross were screened for resistance to red stele.
  • As the stele increases in diameter, the cortex, pericycle and endodermis are lost.
British Dictionary definitions for stele

stele

/ˈstiːlɪ; stiːl/
noun (pl) stelae (ˈstiːliː), steles (ˈstiːlɪz; stiːlz)
1.
an upright stone slab or column decorated with figures or inscriptions, common in prehistoric times
2.
a prepared vertical surface that has a commemorative inscription or design, esp one on the face of a building
3.
the conducting tissue of the stems and roots of plants, which is in the form of a cylinder, principally containing xylem, phloem, and pericycle See also protostele, siphonostele
Also called (for senses 1, 2) stela (ˈstiːlə)
Derived Forms
stelar (ˈstiːlə) adjective
Word Origin
C19: from Greek stēlē; related to Greek histanai to stand, Latin stāre
Word Origin and History for stele
n.

"upright slab," usually inscribed, 1820, from Greek stele "standing block, slab," from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)).

stele in Science
stele
  (stēl, stē'lē)   
The central core of primary vascular tissues in the stem or root of a vascular plant, consisting of xylem and phloem together with pith.