style

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English stile, stel, stele, stiel, stiele, stil, still, stille, styele, style, styill, styll, styyl (“writing tool, stylus; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression, particularly one regarded as high quality; demeanour, manner, way of life; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”), from Old French style, estile, stil, stile (modern French style), or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument, pale, spike, stake; writing tool, stylus; act of setting down in writing, composition; characteristic mode of expression, style; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus. The English word is cognate with Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”), German Stiel (“handle; stalk”), Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”), Occitan estil, Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”), Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”). The verb is derived from the noun.

noun

1. Senses relating to a thin, pointed object.
   1. (historical) A sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.
   2. A tool with a sharp point used in engraving; a burin, a graver, a stylet, a stylus.
      From Job xix. 24. it appears to have been usual in his day, to write or engrave upon Plates of Lead, which might easily be done with a Pen, or Graver, or Style of Iron, or other hard metal. 1821, James Townley, chapter I, in Illustrations of Biblical Literature, Exhibiting the History and Fate of the Sacred Writings, from the Earliest Period to the Present Century;[…], volume I, London: Printed [by B. Crompton] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown,[…], →OCLC, part I (From the Giving of the Law to the Birth of Christ), page 27
   3. The gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour.
      Laſt of all fit a Triangular Iron, whoſe angular point being laid to the Center of the Dyal Plane, one ſide muſt agree with the Subſtilar Line, and its other ſide with the Stilar Line; ſo is the Stile made. And this Stile you muſt erect perpendicularly over the Subſtilar Line on the Dyal Plane, and there fix it. Then is your Dyal finiſhed. 1697, Joseph Moxon, “Operat[ioni] II. To Describe a Dyal upon a Horizontal Plane.”, in Mechanick Dyalling: Teaching any Man, though of an Ordinary Capacity and Unlearned in Mathematicks, to Draw a True Sun-dial on any Given Plane,[…], 3rd edition, London: Printed for James Moxon,[…], →OCLC, page 17
   4. (botany) The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower.
      The calyx of Theophraſta is a ſmall, permanent perianthium, divided into five obtuſe ſegments, making obtuſe angles alſo with one another: … the ſtyle is ſubulated, and ſhorter than the corolla: the ſtigma is acute. 1751, John Hill, A General Natural History: Or, New and Accurate Descriptions of the Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals of the Different Parts of the World;[…], London: Printed for Thomas Osborne,[…], →OCLC, page 268
   5. (surgery) A kind of surgical instrument with a blunt point, used for exploration.
   6. (zoology) A small, thin, pointed body part.
      1. (entomology) A long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region.
         the anal styles of insects
2. (by extension from sense 1.1) A particular manner of expression in writing or speech, especially one regarded as good.
   Read Lord Bolingbroke's [book] with great attention, as well as to the ſtyle as to the matter. I wiſh you could form yourſelf ſuch a ſtyle in every language. Style is the dreſs of thoughts, and a well-dreſſed thought, like a well-dreſſed man, appears to great advantage. 1752 January 21 (indicated as 1751 Old Style), Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, “Letter CCVIII”, in Letters Written by the Late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Philip Stanhope, Esq; […] In Four Volumes, 6th edition, volume III, London: Published by Mrs. Eugenia Stanhope,[…]; printed for J[ames] Dodsley,[…], published 1775, →OCLC, page 113
   The public will naturally expect, that in chuſing a Patron for the Life of Cicero, I should addreſs myſelf to ſome perſon of illuſtrious rank, diſtinguished by his parts and eloquence, and bearing a principal share in the great affairs of the Nation; who, according to the uſual ſtyle of Dedications, might be the proper ſubject of a compariſon with the Hero of my piece. 1790, Conyers Middleton, “To the Right Honorable John Lord Hervey, Lord Keeper of His Majesty’s Privy Seal”, in The History of the Life of M. Tullius Cicero, new edition, volume I, Basel: Printed for J. J. Tourneisen [i.e., Johann Jakob Thurneysen]; and J. L. Legrand, →OCLC, page iii
   After all, it is style alone by which posterity will judge of a great work, for an author can have nothing truly his own but his style; facts, scientific discoveries, and every kind of information, may be seized by all; but an author's diction cannot be taken from him. 1806 February, Isaac D’Israeli, “Remarks on Style”, in The Literary Magazine, and American Register, volume V, number XXIX, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by J[ohn] Conrad & Co. [et al.], →OCLC, page 105, column 1
   Methods for more "intelligent" spellchecking as well as for automatic checking of grammar and style are on the way, but they will require the support of electronic dictionaries. 1995, “Perspectives”, in Henning Bergenholtz, Sven Tarp, editors, Manual of Specialised Lexicography: The Preparation of Specialised Dictionaries (Benjamins Translation Library; 12), Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Pa.: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISSN, page 236
   1. A legal or traditional term or formula of words used to address or refer to a person, especially a monarch or a person holding a post or having a title.
      Monarchs are often addressed with the style of Majesty.
      Every Printing-houſe is by the Cuſtom of Time out of mind, called a Chappel; and all the Workmen that belong to it are Members of the Chappel: and the Oldeſt Freeman is the Father of the Chappel. I ſuppoſe the ſtile was originally conferred upon it by the courteſie of ſome great Churchman, or men, (doubtleſs when Chappels were in more veneration than of late years they have been here in England) who for the Books of Divinity that proceeded from a Printing-houſe, gave it the Reverend Title of Chappel. 1683, Joseph Moxon, “§ 25. The Office of the Warehouse-keeper. [(As an Appendix.) Ancient Customs Used in a Printing-house.]”, in Mechanick Exercises: Or, The Doctrine of Handy-books. Applied to the Art of Printing, volume II, London: Printed for Joseph Moxon[…], →OCLC, number XXII, page 356
      One ſtyle to a gracious benefactor, another to a proud, inſulting foe. 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam], on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, in the House of Lords, by the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Lauderdale, Early in the Present Sessions of Parliament, London: Printed for J. Owen,[…], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington,[…], →OCLC, page 10
      During the whole of the reign of George I., the money was of the same species and value as that of Queen Anne, but to his style upon the reverse, were added his German titles, with Fidei Defensor [Defender of the Faith], which then, for the first time, appeared upon the coins, although it had been constantly used in the style of our monarchs from Henry VIII., on whom it was conferred by Pope Leo X., in the year 1521. 26 May 1821, “Annals of the Coinage of Britain and Its Dependencies, from the Earliest Period of Authentic History to the End of the Fiftieth Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George III. By the Rev. Rogers Ruding,[…] The Second Edition, Corrected, Enlarged, and Continued to the Close of the Year 1818. 5 vols. 8vo. With a 4to. vol. of Plates. London, 1819. [book review]”, in The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review;[…], volume III, number 106, London: Printed by Davidson,[…], published by [John] Limbird,[…], sold also by Souter [et al.], →OCLC, page 327
3. A particular manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art.
   1. A particular manner of acting or behaving; (specifically) one regarded as fashionable or skilful; flair, grace.
      As a dancer, he has a lot of style.
      Backstabbing people is not my style.
      Running would feel better than hiding and waiting. It was not her style to hole up in the shadows. 2015, Zachary Brown, The Darkside War (The Icarus Corps; book 1), London, New York, N.Y.: Saga Press, pages 197–198
   2. A particular way in which one grooms, adorns, dresses, or carries oneself; (specifically) a way thought to be attractive or fashionable.
   3. (computing) A visual or other modification to text or other elements of a document, such as boldface or italics.
      applying styles to text in a wordprocessor  Cascading Style Sheets
      In today's assignment, you need to: … Right justify your heading in 12 point Helvetica font and plain text style. 2001, Dee L. Fabry, Sally A. Seier, “Speaking, Technology, Analysis, and Reading through Research”, in Opening Doors to Reading: Building School-to-work Skills, Englewood, Colo.: Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries Unlimited, page 64
      The concept of creating styles has been around since long before the Web. Desktop publishing programs, such as Adobe InDesign, and even word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, have long used styles to manage the formatting and editing of text on printed pages. 2011, Janine Warner, “Cascading Style Sheets”, in Dreamweaver CS3 for Dummies, New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons
   4. (printing, publishing) A set of rules regarding the presentation of text (spelling, typography, the citation of references, etc.) and illustrations that is applied by a publisher to the works it produces.
      the house style of the journal
      If you have to settle for an expert typist who has not completed recent dissertations for your school, buy two copies of the style manual, one for you and one for the typist. 1993, Evelyn Hunt Ogden, “Spending Money and Using the 20th Century to Your Advantage”, in Completing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis in Two Semesters or Less, 2nd edition, Lanham, Md., Toronto, Ont.: ScarecrowEducation, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, published 2003, page 60
      There are many excellent style manuals, and every good writer should have one or more of these at hand, along with the appropriate formatting instructions for the particular standard beng followed. This book is a how-to survival manual for students, researchers, and family members who need to learn and use APA [American Psychological Association] style and who would like to use some of the tools provided by Microsoft Word. 2012, Larry A. Pace, “Preface and Acknowledgments”, in Using Microsoft Word to Write Research Papers in APA Style, Anderson, S.C.: TwoPaces.com, page 5

verb

1. (transitive) To design, fashion, make, or arrange in a certain way or form (style)
2. (transitive, formal) To call or give a name or title to.
   But when the proconſul perſiſted in requiring him to ſwear by the fortune of Cæſar, Polycarp ſaid, "Since thou oſtentatiouſly requireſt me to ſwear by what thou ſtyleſt the fortune of Cæſar, as if thou wert ignorant of what I am, hear me boldly ſpeak. I am a Chriſtian; and if thou wouldſt learn what is the doctrine of Chriſtianity, appoint a day, and hear." 1776, “Of the Martyrs at Smyrna”, in David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes], editor, Account of the Martyrs at Smyrna and Lyons, in the Second Century. With Explanatory Notes, Edinburgh: Printed by A. Murray and J. Cochran, →OCLC, pages 12–13
   Dr. Aitken's language is generally exact, though there is a quaintneſs, and an attempt at novelty, which is ſometimes diſagreeable. … He ſtyles 'recover a pleasing evidence of the operation of the medicines.' 1782 December, “Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic and Surgery. By John Aitken, M.D. 2 vols. 8vo. 14s. in Boards. Cadell. [book review]”, in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature (Series the Fifth), volume LIV, London: Printed for A. Hamilton,[…], →OCLC, page 438
   Edward the Black Prince had the principality of Aquitain and Gascony conferred on him, with the privilege of coining monies. Under the authority of this grant, he struck various coins of gold and silver. On these coins he invariably styles himself, Primogenitus Regis Angliæ, et Princeps Aquitaniæ [First King of England, and Prince of Aquitaine]. 14 April 1821, “Annals of the Coinage of Britain and Its Dependencies, from the Earliest Period of Authentic History to the End of the Fiftieth Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George III. By the Rev. Rogers Ruding,[…] The Second Edition, Corrected, Enlarged, and Continued to the Close of the Year 1818. 5 vols. 8vo. With a 4to. vol. of Plates. London, 1819. [book review]”, in The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review;[…], volume III, number 100, London: Printed by Davidson,[…], published by [John] Limbird,[…], sold also by Souter [et al.], →OCLC, page 246, column 3
3. (transitive, informal) To create for, or give to, someone a style, fashion, or image, particularly one which is regarded as attractive, tasteful, or trendy.
4. (intransitive, US, informal) To act in a way which seeks to show that one possesses style.