easel

noun

ea·​sel ˈē-zəl 

: a frame for supporting something (such as an artist's canvas)

Illustration of easel

Examples of easel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There was a crisp new poster on the easel at the Werth practice facility that displayed the Big East Tournament trophy, not yet mauled in frustration and held together by tape like the regular-season version had been. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026

On an easel, a map of the Middle East, with American flag pins denoting US military positions. —Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 5 Mar. 2026

Facing the jury, Rifkin placed a list of Braddy’s statements to investigators on an easel, going through each one. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

Noir laid her easel and 4-by-5-foot linen canvas against a boulevard tree and started painting a portrait of Good wearing the strapless red dress from her maternity photoshoot, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. —Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Dutch ezel, literally, "donkey," going back to Middle Dutch esel, going back to Germanic *asil- (whence Old Saxon & Old High German esil "donkey," Old English esol, eosol, Gothic asilus), altered from Latin asinus — more at ass entry 1

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for easel

• weasel

Kids Definition

easel

noun

ea·​sel ˈē-zəl 

: a frame for supporting something (as an artist's canvas)

Etymology

from Dutch ezel "a frame to hold an artist's canvas," literally, "donkey"

Word Origin

An easel is a frame for holding up such things as an artist's painting or a chalkboard. In the 17th century the Dutch had become famous throughout Europe for their oil painting. Thus it was their word ezel, which they used to refer to this piece of equipment, that was borrowed into English around that time. This sense of ezel was an extension of the original meaning "donkey," probably because an easel, like a beast of burden, is used to hold things.