trellis

[ trel-is ]
See synonyms for trellis on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a frame or structure of latticework; lattice.

  2. a framework of this kind used as a support for growing vines or plants.

  1. a summerhouse, gazebo, arch, etc., made chiefly or completely of latticework.

  2. Heraldry. a charge of bendlets overlying bendlets sinister, the whole being cloué at the crossings.

verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with a trellis.

  2. to enclose in a trellis.

  1. to train or support on a trellis.

  2. to form into or like a trellis.

Origin of trellis

1
1350–1400; Middle English trelis<Middle French (noun) <Late Latin trilīcius (for Latin trilīx) woven with three threads, equivalent to Latin tri-tri- + līci(um) thread + -us adj. suffix

Words Nearby trellis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trellis in a sentence

  • Neither are there any terraces and verandahs adorned with elegant trellis-work and flowers, as there are in other warm countries.

  • Black Hood took to a stout iron trellis, climbed quickly to the second story where he found a bedroom window open.

  • She leaned close to the trellis, and parting the sprays of clematis that covered it looked into a corner of the room.

    Summer | Edith Wharton
  • In the mosque stands a plain sarcophagus, surrounded by a marble trellis-work.

  • I stepped into the house straightway, and told Hard Cider to order the trellis lumber for me.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for trellis

trellis

/ (ˈtrɛlɪs) /


noun
  1. a structure or pattern of latticework, esp one used to support climbing plants

  2. an arch made of latticework

verb(tr)
  1. to interweave (strips of wood, etc) to make a trellis

  2. to provide or support with a trellis

Origin of trellis

1
C14: from Old French treliz fabric of open texture, from Late Latin trilīcius woven with three threads, from Latin tri- + līcium thread

Derived forms of trellis

  • trellis-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012