Topiary
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Art or practice of trimming shrubs or trees in artistic or ornamental shapes, e.g. of animals. uncountable
"The palace garden might have had a semblance of coolness had there been any trees, but the tallest things were fanciful topiary, tortured into the shapes of running horses or bears performing tumblers’ tricks or the like."
- 2 making decorative shapes by trimming shrubs or trees wordnet
- 3 A garden decorated with such art. countable
- 4 a garden having shrubs clipped or trimmed into decorative shapes especially of animals wordnet
- 5 One such shrub or tree. countable
"We have topiaries for sale."
- 1 Of, or relating to art of topiaries. not-comparable
"As the topiary art has been allowed to practically die out, it is difficult to secure the services of skilled clippers."
- 2 Of a tree or shrub, trimmed in artistic shape. not-comparable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"I can't believe you didn't see the kleptomaniac toad in the topiary!"
Etymology
From Latin topiarius (“of or relating to ornamental gardening; an ornamental garden, an ornamental gardener”), from Latin topia (“ornamental gardening, landscape painting”), from Ancient Greek τόπια (tópia, “artistic representation in which natural or artificial features of a place are used as the medium”), plural of Ancient Greek τόπιον (tópion, “field, landscape”), from τόπος (tópos, “place”). The adjective use dates to 1592, the noun use dates to 1908.