topiary

[toh-pee-er-ee]Horticulture

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR topiary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

(of a plant) clipped or trimmed into fantastic shapes.

of or relating to such trimming.

noun, plural to·pi·ar·ies.

topiary work; the topiary art.

a garden containing such work.

Origin of topiary

1585–95; < Latin topiārius pertaining to landscape-gardening or to ornamental gardens, equivalent to topi(a) (plural) artificial landscape (< Greek tópia (singular topion), diminutive of tópos place) + -ārius -ary

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

Related Words for topiary

sapling, shrub, wood, forest, timber, seedling, shrubbery, tree, foliage, hedge, thicket, woods, pulp, stock, softwood, hardwood, bush, brier, boscage, bosket

Examples from the Web for topiary

Contemporary Examples of topiary

He took meeting after meeting with giddy Hollywood executives and pitched them his followup—a sci-fi epic called A Topiary.
‘Upstream Color,’ Shane Carruth’s Sci-Fi Drama, Is the Year’s Craziest Film (So Far)
Marlow Stern
April 6, 2013
Real name Hector Monsegur, he helped the FBI level charges on U.K.-based team members Topiary and Kayla.
Anonymous Member Speaks About Divide in the Collective’s Mission
Parmy Olson
June 13, 2012
One of them was Topiary, an alleged leader of the LulzSec group.
The Godfather of Hacking
Brian Ries
August 19, 2011

Historical Examples of topiary

An affected admiration for Dutch topiary also became a fashion.
Lippincott's Magazine, November 1885
Various
May I add that poodles ought not to be shaved with a safety-razor, but should be trimmed by a topiary expert?
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, June 6, 1917
Various
Unlike those found in the gardens of Colonial days, they should be carefully clipped, sometimes for topiary effects.
Garden Ornaments
Mary H. Northend
Through the great number of formal gardens laid out within a few years in America, the topiary art has had a certain revival.
Old-Time Gardens
Alice Morse Earle
There were bushes exhibiting fantastic examples of the topiary art, and here, too, was a sun-dial.
Bat Wing
Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for topiary

topiary

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by the trimming or training of trees or bushes into artificial decorative animal, geometric, or other shapes

noun

plural -aries

topiary work
a topiary garden

the art of topiary

Derived Formstopiarian (ˌtəʊpɪˈɛərɪən), adjectivetopiarist, noun

Word Origin for topiary

C16: from French topiaire, from Latin topia decorative garden work, from Greek topion little place, from topos place

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 topiary

adj.

1590s, from Latin topiarius "of or pertaining to ornamental gardening," from topia "ornamental gardening," from Greek topia, plural of topion, originally "a field," diminutive of topos "place" (see topos). The noun is first recorded 1908, from the adjective.