English Explanatory Dictionary

steeple

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A tall tower, often on a church, normally topped with a spire.
  2. A spire.
  3. A high headdress of the 14th century.
verb
  1. To form something into the shape of a steeple.
name
  1. A hamlet in Steeple with Tyneham parish, Dorset, England, previously in Purbeck district (OS grid ref SY9181).
  2. A village and civil parish in Maldon district, Essex, England (OS grid ref TL9303).

Pronunciation

/ˈstiːpəl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-steeple.wav

Word forms

steeple steeples steple steepling steepled

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”).

Derived words

Ainderby Steeple rood-steeple Steeple Aston Steeple Bumpstead steeplebush steeple cab steeplechase steeplechasing Steeple Claydon steeple engine steeple-fingered Steeple Flat steeple hat steeplehouse steeplejack steeple keeper Steeple Langford steepleless steeplelike Steeple Morden Steeple Mountain Sturton le Steeple unsteeple steepled
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