different between means vs style

English

Etymology

See mean (“method or course of action used to achieve some result”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mi?nz/
• Rhymes: -i?nz

Noun

means

1. plural of mean

means (plural means)

1. An instrument or condition for attaining a purpose.

   A car is a means of transport.

means pl (plural only) (uncountable)

1. Resources; riches.

   He was living beyond his means.

Usage notes

Frequently contrasted with end (“goal”), as in “a means to an end”. Similar contrast is process vs. product.

Synonyms

• wherewithal

Translations

Verb

means

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of mean

Anagrams

• Mensa, Seman, amens, manes, manse, mensa, mesna, names, namés, neams, ñames

Latin

Etymology

Present active participle of me? (“go along, traverse”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?me.ans/, [?meä??s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?me.ans/, [?m???ns]

Participle

me?ns (genitive meantis); third-declension one-termination participle

1. going along, passing, traversing

Declension

Third-declension participle.

¹When used purely as an adjective.

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: st?l, IPA^(key): /sta?l/
• Homophone: stile
• Rhymes: -a?l

Noun

style (countable and uncountable, plural styles)

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.
   3. The gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour.
   4. (botany) The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower.

      Synonym: stylet
   5. (surgery) A kind of surgical instrument with a blunt point, used for exploration.

      Synonym: stylet

   6. (zoology) A small, thin, pointed body part.

      Synonym: stylet

      1. (entomology) A long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region.

2. (by extension from sense 1.1) A particular manner of expression in writing or speech, especially one regarded as good.
   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.
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.
   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.
   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.

Alternative forms

• stile (obsolete)
• stylee (music, slang)

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ????
• ? Korean: ??? (seutail)

Related terms

• stylus

Translations

See also

• substance

Verb

style (third-person singular simple present styles, present participle styling, simple past and past participle styled)

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.

   Synonyms: designate, dub, name; see also Thesaurus:denominate
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.

Conjugation

Alternative forms

• stile (obsolete)

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• style (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• lyest, tyles

French

Alternative forms

• stile (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French stile, from Old French estile, borrowed from Latin stilus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stil/

Noun

style m (plural styles)

1. style (manner of doing something)
2. (botany) style (of a flower)
3. fashion, trend, style
4. (colloquial) style (personal comportment)
5. flair
6. (art) style; method characteristic of an artist; artistic manner or characteristic by which an artistic movement may be defined
7. gnomon, style (needle of a sundial)
8. (dated, historical) stylus, style (implement for writing on tablets)
9. complement of jargon particular to a field; style (manner of writing specific to a field or discipline)
10. sort, type; category of things

Synonyms

• (manner of doing): façon, manière
• (artistic characteristic): genre
• (needle of a sundial): aiguille (d'un cadran), gnomon
• (stylus): stylet
• (category): espèce, genre, sorte, type

Derived terms

Further reading

• “style” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English sti?el.

Noun

style

1. Alternative form of stile (“stile”)

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin stylus.

Noun

style

1. Alternative form of stile (“style”)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st?.l?/

Noun

style

1. plural of styl
2. accusative plural of styl
3. vocative plural of styl

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English style.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is.?taj.li/, /?staj.li/, /i?.?taj.li/

Adjective

style (invariable, comparable)

1. (Brazil, slang) stylish