What does stelae mean?
Stelae are inscribed stone slabs or pillars, especially those serving as gravestones or commemorative monuments. The term is used for upright stones carrying religious, legal, dedicatory, or commemorative texts, particularly in ancient contexts. Stelae can provide important evidence about language, religion, social status, and historical events because their inscriptions may name individuals, describe offerings, or record legal declarations. The word is related to stela, its usual singular form, and steles is an accepted alternative plural. It is most common in academic writing about archaeology, ancient art, epigraphy, and religious history, although it can also refer to modern commemorative stones.
nounPlural of stela: an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription, especially one used as a gravestone or commemorative monument.
- An upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription, especially as a grave marker or commemorative monument.
- A carved stone slab or pillar used to display religious, legal, or commemorative texts.
"The museum's collection includes several ancient stelae carved with dedicatory inscriptions."
"The archaeologists discovered a collection of stelae beside the ancient temple."
"These stelae preserve inscriptions that provide valuable evidence about the surrounding society."
Stelae is the conventional plural of stela; steles is also widely accepted and common in academic usage.
"The collection contains Greek, Roman, and South Asian stelae."
These ancient stone slabs turn inscriptions into monuments that can still speak across millennia.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stelae come from?
The word comes through Latin from Greek stēlē, meaning “pillar” or “standing stone.” English adopted it in the 17th century for an upright inscribed stone. The usual plural is stelae, following the Latin plural, while steles reflects the Greek singular form stēlē with an English-style plural ending.
How stelae is actually used
The form stelae is the conventional plural, while steles is also common. The word is primarily used in archaeology, art history, religious studies, and reference works concerning ancient monuments.
Easily confused with stelae
Both are plural forms of stela; stelae is the traditional plural ending, while steles is also widely accepted, especially in academic and archaeological writing.