stile1
/stʌɪl
/noun
An arrangement of steps that allows people but not animals to climb over a fence or wall.I climbed a stile, stepped onto uneven turf and followed what I thought must be the route of the footpath I identified....
- Carry on along a cut path through long grass and, just before Hole House, take a step stile over the wall, now on your left.
- Climb a fence stile at the top of the ridge and the summit of Sour Howes lies ahead.
Origin
Old English stigel, from a Germanic root meaning 'to climb'.
Rhymes
stile2
/stʌɪl/noun
A vertical piece in the frame of a panelled door or sash window. Compare with rail1 (sense 3 of the noun).Remove the rails (the horizontal pieces of the face frame) and bring the stiles (the vertical pieces) together and mark them both for the dowels....
- Use the same procedure to prevent chipping when cutting across the grain of a solid-wood door's vertical stiles.
- Usually, joiners cut, carved, and painted all the stiles, rails and panels before putting them together with mortise and tenon joints secured by wooden pins.
Origin
Late 17th century: probably from Dutch stijl 'pillar, doorpost'.