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easel

The definition of an easel is a standing frame used for holding something.

(noun)

An example of an easel is what a painter uses to hold their canvas.

See easel in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

an upright frame or tripod to hold an artist's canvas, a picture on display, etc.

Origin: 17th c. < Du ezel (Ger esel), ass, ult. < L asellus, dim. of asinus, ass: for sense, cf. Fr chevalet, easel, lit., little horse & sawhorse

See easel in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

An upright frame for displaying or supporting something, such as an artist's canvas.

Origin:

Origin: Dutch ezel, ass

Origin: , from Middle Dutch esel

Origin: , from Latin asellus

Origin: , diminutive of asinus

Word History: “A painter's ass” is not a phrase that immediately brings to mind an accessory to the artist's profession. But easel comes to us from the Dutch word ezel, meaning “ass, donkey.” The Dutch word was eventually extended to mean “an upright frame for displaying or supporting something,” in the same way that the English word horse has come to mean “a piece of gymnastic equipment with an upholstered body.” Developments such as these illustrate the playfulness or wit that speakers often bring to language, here applying the name for one object to another with similar properties.

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