Espalier
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A latticework used to shape or train the branches of a tree or shrub into a two-dimensional ornamental or useful design, as along a wall or fence.
"The garment stalls carried the traditional blue vine-dressers' outfits, sunhats, and the great willow pitchforks grown in espalier at villages like Sauve."
- 2 a trellis on which ornamental shrub or fruit tree is trained to grow flat wordnet
- 3 A plant that has been shaped in this manner.
"It is on this rocky surface that one finds many of the growth forms associated with extreme life conditions: polsters, mat plants, espaliers."
- 4 A row of plants that have been shaped in this manner.
"Often some night-animal, hedgehog or weasel, setting out on the hunt, disturbed the lovers, or sometimes they heard a ripe peach falling all alone from the espalier."
- 1 To train a plant in this manner.
Example
More examples"The garment stalls carried the traditional blue vine-dressers' outfits, sunhats, and the great willow pitchforks grown in espalier at villages like Sauve."
Etymology
Borrowed from French espalier, from Italian spalliera, from spalla (“shoulder”).
More for "espalier"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.