balustrade

American  

[bal-uh-streyd, bal-uh-streyd] / ˈbæl əˌstreɪd, ˌbæl əˈstreɪd /

noun

Architecture.

• balustrades
  plural

1. a railing with supporting balusters.

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balustrade British  

/ ˈbæləˌstreɪd /

noun

1. an ornamental rail or coping with its supporting set of balusters

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• balustraded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• balustrades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of balustrade

1635–45; < French balustre baluster + -ade -ade ¹; compare Spanish balaustrada, Italian balaustrata

Explanation

A balustrade is a row of spindles that support a railing. You're especially likely to notice balustrades on balconies or bridges. A small wooden or stone pillar or column is a baluster, like the balusters that support a stairway railing. A whole row of balusters lined up together comprise a balustrade. Balustrade is a French word that's rooted in the Italian balausta, "flower of the wild pomegranate," which has a double-curved stem shaped like a baluster.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

balustrade balustrades

A plush, red velvet fauteuil tucked into the lower right corner of the picture is like an upscale launching pad, which has propelled the man to the balustrade along a tall French window.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025

A red-carpeted, balustrade staircase was also erected mid-air, waiting for the train to pull in and for the North Korean leader to step out.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023

In one of the least weed-infested areas, a large formal pond — the Lower Pool — is framed by a high stone wall, with arched grottoes and capped with a balustrade.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2021

For Casaus, this often involves stacking visually distinct levels of, say, prickly cactuses and wispy flowering bushes, or branchy ornamental trees and soft grasses, against a balustrade or facade.

From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2019

At the garden balustrade in the citadel of the Mesarthim, with ghosts peering over their shoulders, the godspawn watched their death ride down to Weep.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

There’s the satisfying meat and potatoes of exploration at Castle Ensis, with vertiginous balustrades and winding ramparts that cross over and under themselves in impossible architectural configurations.

From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024

If, as the New York Times’ Amanda Hess argues, we live in the “golden age of celebrity branding,” liquor is the filigree on its balustrades, the inlay on its armoires, the leaf on its chandeliers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2023

The structure incorporates features such as carved timber columns and elaborate metalwork on the balustrades and gates.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2021

A comparable warmth and crispness distinguish Milagros Ponce de León’s set, featuring elegant stair balustrades evoking an ocean liner — Henrietta sails on one — with the observatory office nestled beneath.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2020

To climb the rocky hills at the peak of which our neighbors’ porches rose even higher, their balustrades festooned with potted plants, the zinc overhangs sparkling in the midday sun.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago