stencil
/ˈstɛnsəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A thin sheet, either perforated or using some other technique, with which a pattern may be produced upon a surface; a utensil that contains a perforated sheet.
noun
A two-ply master sheet for use with a mimeograph.
Example Sentences
- "You do not necessarily need to have a stencil brush to paint over a stencil."
- "In 2013 a damaged stencil of a rat and an image of a girl hugging a bomb were painted over on the walls of a Fitzroy church by the building owner’s father-in-law, who tried to help out by painting the building while house sitting. He did not know the significance of the stencils."
- "Stencilled letters were used for words and phrases, as well as for captions for some of his stencil “prints,” print being used in the sense of a multicolor woodcut."
Etymology
Likely a nominalization of Middle English stencellen (“to garnish with bright hues”), borrowed from Middle French estinceller (“to glisten”), from Old French estenceler (“to spark”), from Old French estencele (“spark”), from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, from metathesis of Latin scintilla (“spark”). The verb is from the noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈstɛnsəl/
- British English: /ˈstɛnsɪl/