wainscot

American  

[weyn-skuht, -skot, -skoht] / ˈweɪn skət, -skɒt, -skoʊt /

noun

1. wood, especially oak and usually in the form of paneling, for lining interior walls.

2. the lining itself, especially as covering the lower portion of a wall.

3. a dado, especially of wood, lining an interior wall.

4. British. oak of superior quality and cut, imported from the Baltic countries for fine woodwork.

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verb (used with object)

wainscoted, wainscoting, wainscotted, wainscotting

1. to line the walls of (a room, hallway, etc.) with or as if with woodwork.

   a room wainscoted in oak.

wainscot British  

/ ˈweɪnskət /

noun

1. Also called: wainscoting.   wainscotting.  a lining applied to the walls of a room, esp one of wood panelling

2. the lower part of the walls of a room, esp when finished in a material different from the upper part

3. fine quality oak used as wainscot

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verb

1. (tr) to line (a wall of a room) with a wainscot

Other Word Forms

• unwainscoted adjective
• unwainscotted adjective

Etymology

Origin of wainscot

1325–75; Middle English < Middle Low German or Middle Dutch wagenschot, equivalent to wagen wain + schot (< ?)

Explanation

Wainscot is a type of wood paneling on a room's walls. Wainscot is often made from oak. This word's meaning is hard to figure out from looking at it, but the wains part is from a Dutch word that meant "wagon" and the scot part probably comes from a word that means "partition." Put them together, and you've got a word for wood paneling in a room: usually the kind that goes half-way up the wall. Originally, wainscot was a type of foreign oak imported to Britain for use in paneling, before it came to mean the paneling itself.

Example Sentences

Named for its historic 1920s Chateauesque building, Castle is a treasure box of prewar charm: lattice windows, crown-molding, wainscot, Art Deco tile.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 29, 2024

Install them floor to ceiling or only halfway up as a wainscot, then cap it with a wood chair rail.

From Time • Mar. 12, 2015

At the push of a button, the lifts open and close, floor-indicator lights blink, and chimes ping, as if an office tower staffed by Lilliputian drones were hidden behind the wainscot.

From Architectural Digest • Nov. 4, 2014

The walls are covered with red silk damask and decorated with wainscot panelling.

From Economist • Sep. 18, 2014

Werner glances around: a trunk, a box of linens, the pale blue of the walls and the rich white of the wainscot.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• cover
• fill
• stuff