| Steeple | n. [ OE. stepel, AS. stēpel, st&ymacr_;pel; akin to E. steep, a. ] (Arch.) A spire; also, the tower and spire taken together; the whole of a structure if the roof is of spire form. See Spire. “A weathercock on a steeple.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Rood steeple. See Rood tower, under Rood. --
Steeple bush (Bot.), a low shrub (Spiraea tomentosa) having dense panicles of minute rose-colored flowers; hardhack. --
Steeple chase, a race across country between a number of horsemen, to see which can first reach some distant object, as a church steeple; hence, a race over a prescribed course obstructed by such obstacles as one meets in riding across country, as hedges, walls, etc. --
Steeple chaser, one who rides in a steeple chase; also, a horse trained to run in a steeple chase. --
Steeple engine, a vertical back-acting steam engine having the cylinder beneath the crosshead. --
Steeple house, a church. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]
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| Steeple-crowned | a. 1. Bearing a steeple; as, a steeple-crowned building. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Having a crown shaped like a steeple; as, a steeple-crowned hat; also, wearing a hat with such a crown. [ 1913 Webster ] This grave, bearded, sable-cloaked, and steeple-crowned progenitor. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ] |
