means the distinctive way something is done, made, worn, or expressed — the particular manner that sets it apart.

from From Latin 'stilus,' the pointed instrument Romans used to scratch words into wax tablets. Because a writer's handwriting and manner of expression came from that very tool, 'stilus' drifted to mean the way one wrote — and then the way one does anything at all. (The spelling with 'y' owes something to a mistaken later link with Greek 'stylos,' a pillar — a wrong turn that nonetheless stuck.)