escritoire

American  

[es-kri-twahr] / ˌɛs krɪˈtwɑr /

noun

1. writing desk.

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escritoire British  

/ ˌɛskrɪˈtwɑː /

noun

1. a writing desk with compartments and drawers, concealed by a hinged flap, on a chest of drawers or plain stand

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Etymology

Origin of escritoire

1605–15; < French, Middle French < Latin scrīptōrium. See scribe ¹, -tory ²

Example Sentences

To the overbearing interior décor dictator in your life—he barges into your home, rearranges your escritoire, and fiddles with your tablescapes—give Hitler at Home, a new coffee-table book by Despina Stratigakos.

From Slate • Dec. 15, 2015

I write on an outsize table, not a neat escritoire — as if I might be cutting film or pasting up collages.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2015

I write on an escritoire I found on Craigslist.

From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2014

The script reveals a fascination with the Oxford dictionary definition of the word "escritoire", as you might expect from two ambitious autodidacts.

From The Guardian • Jul. 6, 2012

He remembered a secret drawer in his escritoire, in which there was a small plaster crucifix, a faded geranium leaf, and a silver compass.

From The Village of Youth and Other Fairy Tales by Hatton, Bessie