Etymology
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stencil (n.)

1707, not recorded again until 1848, probably from Middle English stencellen "decorate with bright colors," from French estenceler "cover with sparkles or stars, powder with color," from estencele "spark, spangle" (Modern French étincelle), from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathesis of Latin scintilla "spark" (see scintilla).

stencil (v.)

"to produce a design with a stencil," 1861, from stencil (n.). Related: Stenciled; stenciling (1781 as a verbal noun).

Entries linking to stencil

scintilla (n.)

1690s, "a spark, a glimmer," hence "least particle, trace," from figurative use of Latin scintilla "particle of fire, spark, glittering speck, atom," which traditionally is traced to PIE root *skai- "to shine, to gleam" (source also of Gothic skeinan, Old English scinan "to shine;" see shine (v.)), but there are phonetic objections.

tinsel (n.)

mid-15c., "a kind of cloth made with interwoven gold or silver thread," from Anglo-French tencele, Old French estencele, estincelle "spark, spangle" (see stencil (n.)). "In 14-15th c. Fr., the s of es- had long been mute" [OED]. Meaning "very thin sheets or strips of shiny metal" is recorded from 1590s. Figurative sense of "anything showy with little real worth" is from 1650s, suggested from at least 1590s. Use of Tinseltown for "Hollywood" is by 1972.

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Definitions of stencil
1
stencil (v.)
mark or print with a stencil;
2
stencil (n.)
a sheet of material (metal, plastic, cardboard, waxed paper, silk, etc.) that has been perforated with a pattern (printing or a design); ink or paint can pass through the perforations to create the printed pattern on the surface below;
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near stencil

stellate

stem

stem-winder

Sten

stench

stencil

steno-

stenographer

stenography

stenosis

stent

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