I. sten ‧ cil 1 /ˈstens ə l/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a piece of plastic, metal, or paper in which designs or letters have been cut out, that you put over a surface and paint over, so that the design is left on the surface
2 . a design made on something using a stencil
II. stencil 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle stencilled , present participle stencilling British English , stenciled , stenciling American English ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estanceler 'to decorate with shiny colors' , from estancele 'spark' , from Latin scintilla ; ⇨ ↑ scintilla ]
to make a design, letters etc using a stencil