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Definition of "espalier" [es•pal•ier]

  • A tree or shrub that is trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, often in a symmetrical pattern. (noun)
  • A trellis or other framework on which an espalier is grown. (noun)
  • To train as or on an espalier. (verb-transitive)
  • To provide with an espalier. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "espalier" in a sentence
  • "More over, the chief officers decided to decorate the road and to stand in espalier of double line, whilst the bride should pass by preceded by her eunuchs and serving women and clad in the gear her father had given her."
  • "So the beasts of the sea and the elephants and leopards and lynxes and all beasts of the land ranged themselves in espalier on either side of the way, after their several kinds, and similarly the Jinn drew out in two ranks, appearing all to mortal eyes without concealment, in divers forms grisly and gruesome."
  • "It's a paradise for climbers, for some evergreens ... for some fruit trees "en espalier", etc ..."
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