Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
STENCIL
I. noun
Etymology: probably ultimately from Middle English stanseld brightly ornamented, from Anglo-French estencelé spangled, past participle of estenceler to sparkle, from estencele spark, from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, alteration of Latin scintilla
Date: 1707
an impervious material (as a sheet of paper, thin wax, or woven fabric) perforated with lettering or a design through which a substance (as ink, paint, or metallic powder) is forced onto a surface to be printed, something (as a pattern, design, or print) that is produced by means of a stencil, a printing process that uses a stencil,
II. transitive verb (stenciled or stencilled; stenciling or stencilling)
Date: circa 1828
to mark or paint with a stencil, to produce by stencil, stenciler or stenciller noun