trellis

[ trel-is ]

noun

1. a frame or structure of latticework; lattice.
2. a framework of this kind used as a support for growing vines or plants.
3. a summerhouse, gazebo, arch, etc., made chiefly or completely of latticework.
4. Heraldry. a charge of bendlets overlying bendlets sinister, the whole being cloué at the crossings.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a trellis.
2. to enclose in a trellis.
3. to train or support on a trellis.
4. to form into or like a trellis.

trellis

/ ˈtrɛlɪs /

noun

1. a structure or pattern of latticework, esp one used to support climbing plants
2. an arch made of latticework

verb

1. to interweave (strips of wood, etc) to make a trellis
2. to provide or support with a trellis

Derived Forms

• ˈtrellis-ˌlike, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trellis¹

1350–1400; Middle English trelis < Middle French (noun) < Late Latin trilīcius (for Latin trilīx ) woven with three threads, equivalent to Latin tri- tri- + līci ( um ) thread + -us adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of trellis¹

C14: from Old French treliz fabric of open texture, from Late Latin trilīcius woven with three threads, from Latin tri- + līcium thread

Example Sentences

Its three bay windows open expansively on to an abandoned garden, where trusting rabbits can sometimes be seen leaping through the trellises like figures in an ancient tapestry.

From The Daily Beast

Each of these so-called Canaries will also tow a sort of underwater trellis made of steel wire, known as the Tadpole, tethering together vases in which giant bladder kelp can grow.

From MIT Technology Review

The fatigued Paradise Guest House sign was washed-out and the wide front porch with its handcrafted trellis lusted for paint.

From Washington Blade

A few weeks ago I was balancing precariously on a chair in my backyard, hanging a shimmering side of trout from a wooden trellis so it could dry in the cool air.

From Eater

But the “head-trained” (as opposed to snaked into a wire trellis) vines in Lodi, Calif., are anywhere from 40 to 100 years old.

From The Daily Beast

Neither are there any terraces and verandahs adorned with elegant trellis-work and flowers, as there are in other warm countries.

From Project Gutenberg

Black Hood took to a stout iron trellis, climbed quickly to the second story where he found a bedroom window open.

From Project Gutenberg

She leaned close to the trellis, and parting the sprays of clematis that covered it looked into a corner of the room.

From Project Gutenberg

In the mosque stands a plain sarcophagus, surrounded by a marble trellis-work.

From Project Gutenberg

I stepped into the house straightway, and told Hard Cider to order the trellis lumber for me.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arbor
• lattice