easel

[ ee-zuhl ]

/ ˈi zəl /

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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.

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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 asinusass¹

OTHER WORDS FROM easel

easeled, adjective

Words nearby easel

earworm, ear wrap, EAS, ease, easeful, easel, easement, ease off, ease out, easier said than done, easily

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use easel in a sentence

We saw a memorial service on the beach in Santa Monica, mourners slow-motion struggling through the sand in church shoes, making a sign of the cross before a huge portrait propped up on an easel.
Grandma hugs beat out piña coladas for our pandemic-era spring break|Petula Dvorak|April 8, 2021|Washington Post
While none of the original paintings is still in Arles, there is a Van Gogh trail, with easels displaying his most iconic views of that city, where he lived for 15 months and where his exuberance propelled him to just keep on painting — and painting.
An art lover’s Impressionist video trip to Provence and the Riviera|Nancy Nathan|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Visiting that studio, which has been kept much as it was, and then walking a short distance to the easels at his favorite viewpoint puts you right there, to see how the light shifts against the rocks of the mountain.
An art lover’s Impressionist video trip to Provence and the Riviera|Nancy Nathan|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Visiting the asylum, I loved seeing easels along the garden path, showing his best-known landscapes, the views mostly unchanged today.
An art lover’s Impressionist video trip to Provence and the Riviera|Nancy Nathan|February 5, 2021|Washington Post

This spiritual sequel casts him as a sort of anti-Bob Ross, working away at the table he uses instead of an easel while insisting that not everyone is equipped to be an artist.
The 5 Best New Shows Our TV Critic Watched in January 2021|Judy Berman|January 29, 2021|Time
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
As in a trance he crosses the room, seizes charcoal, and feverishly works at the blank canvas on the easel.
Uncanny Tales|Various
As in a trance he crosses the cell, seizes a piece of charcoal, and feverishly works at the picture on the easel!
Uncanny Tales|Various
The artist grasped his friend's hand, dragged him off to the studio, uncovered a small easel picture and a portrait.
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket|Honore de Balzac
If it passed the inspection, he would nod contentedly, trill out a gay refrain, and replace it on the easel for further study.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
A Bayard in society—a Raphael at the easel, he bore a distinguished part in the lionization of the day.
Alone|Marion Harland

British Dictionary definitions for easel

easel

/ (ˈiːzəl) /

noun

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

Word Origin for easel

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

easel

Origin of easel

OTHER WORDS FROM easel

Words nearby easel

Words related to easel

How to use easel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for easel

Word Origin for easel