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Amazon also has a wooden book page holder that slides over the thumb and holds the book open without making the reader’s hands cramp up.
Tablet or book easel: $39.98
A tablet or book easel or pillow helps readers balance their books without having to hold them up.
—
Christopher Murray, Fox News, 10 Dec. 2024
On the floor of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, stood on Thursday next to an easel affixed with a deep red and black poster board that declared it the #REPUBLICAN SHUTDOWN in block white lettering.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Artists can also use easels to display pieces around their workplace.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 1 Dec. 2024
Over time, easel was adopted in English with the same meaning.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
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Christopher Murray, Fox News, 10 Dec. 2024
On the floor of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, stood on Thursday next to an easel affixed with a deep red and black poster board that declared it the #REPUBLICAN SHUTDOWN in block white lettering.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Artists can also use easels to display pieces around their workplace.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 1 Dec. 2024
Over time, easel was adopted in English with the same meaning.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for easel
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Cite this Entry
“Easel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/easel. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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.
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