bannister

[ban-uh-ster]

noun

banister.

banister

or ban·nis·ter

[ban-uh-ster]

noun

a baluster.

Sometimes banisters. the balustrade of a staircase.

Origin of banister

1660–70; apparently by dissimilation from earlier barrister, alteration of baluster, perhaps by association with bar¹

Can be confusedbaluster balustrade banister

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bannisters

Historical Examples of bannisters

Then up she'd be coming, step by step, houlding on to the bannisters, dot and carry one.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
He leaned over the bannisters and spied the note on the hall table.
Mary Louise and Josie O'Gorman
Emma Speed Sampson
His hand gripped the bannisters, his heart leaped to his throat.
The Devourers
Annie Vivanti Chartres
You ought to find two letters from me at Bannisters, for I have directed two to you there.
Records of Later Life
Frances Ann Kemble
I am at present staying with my friends, the Fitz Hughs, at Bannisters.
Records of Later Life
Frances Ann Kemble

British Dictionary definitions for bannisters

bannisters

pl n

a variant spelling of banisters

Bannister

noun

Sir Roger (Gilbert). born 1929, British athlete and doctor: first man to run a mile in under four minutes (1954)

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

Word Origin and History for bannisters

banister

1660s, unexplained corruption of baluster. As late as 1830 condemned as "vulgar," it is now accepted. Surname Bannister is from Old French banastre "basket," hence, "basket-maker."