steeple
/ˈsti(ː)pəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A spire.
name
A hamlet in Steeple with Tyneham parish, Dorset, England, previously in Purbeck district (OS grid ref SY9181).
Example Sentences
- "Above the session-room of the Council is the steeple, and in the steeple is the belfry, where exists, and has existed time out of mind, the pride and wonder of the village—the great clock of the borough of Vondervotteimittiss."
- "So, the woman and the child had gone by, and gone on, and five had sounded from the steeples."
- "He steepled his fingers as he considered the question."
- "Mr. Ziegler is now angled forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled just under his nose."
- "Mr Hatfield steepled his fingers and gazed at her fixedly and took a long contemplative breath."
Etymology
From Middle English stepel, from Old English stīpel, stȳpel, stīepel (“tower, steeple”), from Proto-West Germanic *staupil, from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (“that which is steep, tower, steeple”), equivalent to steep + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stǫpull (“tower, steeple”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: stepel, stīpel, *staupil, *staupilaz
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsti(ː)pəl/
- British English: /ˈsti(ː)pəl/