South African. [Du. stel.] A trap for wild animals.
1852. C. Barter, Dorp & Veld, viii. 116. As soon as he [the wolf] has seized the bait and begins to pull it up from the bottom of the hole, he tightens the string, releases the trigger, and if the stel is properly set, receives the bullet in his head.
1863. W. C. Baldwin, Afr. Hunting, ix. 377. The lions had killed two zebras … and I set a stell (a spring gun) for them by the remains of one of the zebras. Ibid., 381. The Masaras set these spears (stells) for rhinoceros and other game.
1895. J. G. Millais, Breath fr. Veldt (1899), 264. A ‘still’ … is formed by two rifles fixed to trees or posts.
