easel

[ee-zuh l]

See more synonyms for easel on Thesaurus.com

noun

a stand or frame for supporting or displaying at an angle an artist's canvas, a blackboard, a china plate, etc.
Also called masking frame. Photography. a frame, often with adjustable masks, used to hold photographic paper flat and control borders when printing enlargements.

Origin of easel

1625–35; < Dutch ezel ass, easel (cognate with German Esel, Old English esel ass) < Vulgar Latin *asilus, for Latin asellus, diminutive of asinus ass¹

Related formsea·seled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for easel

Contemporary Examples

The last drawing, he reveals, will be of Arthur sitting at an easel painting Denison.
Forever a Golden Girl: The Art of Being Bea Arthur
Tim Teeman
July 14, 2014
On the easel sits a depiction of sun shining through trees, illuminating the grass below.
This Is Where George W. Bush Paints
Olivia Nuzzi
July 11, 2014
A photograph showed Bush hunched over an easel in what appears to be a home gym.
This Is Where George W. Bush Paints
Olivia Nuzzi
July 11, 2014
I went back to my easel and motioned the model to resume her pose.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
While moving a framed canvas from one easel to another my foot slipped on the polished floor, and I fell heavily on both wrists.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014

Historical Examples

She left the easel in disgust and refused to touch it again for a week.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
Her easel was there, and her half-rubbed out drawing—No, that was not her drawing.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
She asked to see it, and I wheeled out the easel and threw the drapery back.
The Greater Inclination
Edith Wharton
I'm afraid my scruples vanished when I got him before my easel.
The Greater Inclination
Edith Wharton
And it was there, 'on the easel,' that 'The Dead Child' at last made its appearance.
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for easel

easel

noun

a frame, usually in the form of an upright tripod, used for supporting or displaying an artist's canvas, blackboard, etc

Word Origin

C17: from Dutch ezel ass 1; related to Gothic asilus, German Esel, Latin asinus ass

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 easel

n.

1590s, from Dutch ezel "easel," originally "ass," from Middle Dutch esel, from Latin asinus "ass" (see ass (n.1)); the comparison being of loading a burden on a donkey and propping up a painting or canvas on a wooden stand (cf. sawhorse).

easel

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}easel

Examples from the Web for easel

Contemporary Examples

The last drawing, he reveals, will be of Arthur sitting at an easel painting Denison.

On the easel sits a depiction of sun shining through trees, illuminating the grass below.

A photograph showed Bush hunched over an easel in what appears to be a home gym.

I went back to my easel and motioned the model to resume her pose.

While moving a framed canvas from one easel to another my foot slipped on the polished floor, and I fell heavily on both wrists.

Historical Examples

She left the easel in disgust and refused to touch it again for a week.

Her easel was there, and her half-rubbed out drawing—No, that was not her drawing.

She asked to see it, and I wheeled out the easel and threw the drapery back.

I'm afraid my scruples vanished when I got him before my easel.

And it was there, 'on the easel,' that 'The Dead Child' at last made its appearance.

easel

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for easel

n.

Origin of easel