trestlen.
/ˈtrɛs(ə)l/ 1. A support for something, consisting of a short horizontal beam or bar with diverging legs, usually two at each end; esp. one of a pair or set used to support a board so as to form a table.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > a stand or support to raise from the ground > with diverging legs
tresta1400
trestlea1400
strestell1531
a1400 Coer de L. 102 They sette tresteles, & layde a borde.
c1400 Brut clxxxvii. 206 Þis Piers of Gauaston..went into þe Kyngus tresorie..and toke þe table of golde, wiþ þe tresteles of þe same, and meny oþere riche gewelles.
1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 196 Mete tables in the Captayns Caban and..Trystelles for the same.
1522 in Archaeologia 25 457 A tabill & the trostells.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clvii. [cliii.] 434 These burgesses sette downe the lytter on two trestels.
1543 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 15 Payde for makynge of the tryselle..ij d.
1572 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 165 Tables and tressells.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iv. xii. 502/1 Then was the Body..set on a Tressell between two crosses, and couered with a large purple veluett pall.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 3 Horses, or Trussels,..to lay the Poles..on whilst they are boring.
1743 in H. S. Wyndham Ann. Cov. Gard. Theatre (1906) II. 312 A Mountebank's stage and tressells.
1789 A. Young Jrnl. 1 Nov. in Trav. France (1792) i. 217 In Italian inns..the bedstead is usually four forms, like trussels, set together.
a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Trussell, a stand for a barrel. Kent.
1807 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life II. xviii. 195 The proverbial obstinacy of the pig rather increases than diminishes, when he is laid on the tressel for execution.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist I. v. 67 An unfinished coffin on black tressels.
1861 T. Wright Ess. Archæol. II. xiv. 41 The Anglo-Saxon table was formed merely by placing a board upon trestles at the time of eating.
a. A three-legged stool or seat; a tripod. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > stool > [noun] > three-legged stool
trestlec1440
trest1483
tripos1624
tripod1656
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 503/1 Trostyle, tristellus, Kylw. et Dicc. tripos, Comm.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Trestle, tripus,..whych hath thre fete.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. f. 151 These be the answers, of the Holy see, these be ye Oracles of the Apostolike trestle. Margin, Apollo among ye Heathen gaue..Prophecies at a threefooted boord or trestle.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Kivv/1 A Tristil, tripes.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Trestle (tripus), a three footed-stool, or any thing with three feet, a trevet.
1658 in E. Phillips New World Eng. Words
b. A three-legged frame or stand for a support; a tripod. Now dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > a stand or support to raise from the ground > with three legs
trivet1526
trefoot1559
three-legged staff1701
staff1728
trestle1790
tripod1825
1790 W. Roy in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 80 165 We made shift, by the help of a long beam, and a moveable trestle by way of fulcrum for it to rest upon, to get the instrument up to the top if its own proper scaffold.
1795 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 85 435 The plank and bar were supported on five of the tressels, or tripods, belonging to the Royal Society.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Tressel, a frame to support a scaffold, made of three feet.
3. Heraldry. A low stool or bench used as a bearing: usually represented with three legs.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of domestic items > [noun] > stool
trestle1610
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iv. ix. 213 He beareth Gules, a Fesse Humet, Or, betweene three Trestles Argent... This charge..is of some..taken..for a Table.
1894 Parker's Gloss. Her. Tressel, a three-legged frame to support a table, borne chiefly by branches of one family.
4. In various specific uses.† a. A support or rest for a harquebus or other early firearm (see rest n.1 9a): = trest n.2 1b. Obsolete.† f. A stand or frame for candles or tapers burning in religious worship. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > rest or support
gun-stock1495
trestle1497
trest1513
rest1546
musket rest1590
fork1591
shoulder-rest1868
benchrest1892
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 95 Trestelles for hakbusses.
b. A framework consisting of upright (or more or less inclined) pieces with diagonal braces, used to support a bridge or other elevated structure.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > framework
frame1558
truss1654
cage-work1756
lathing1756
grillage1776
trestle1796
trestlework1853
hog frame1875
truss-work1884
steel framework1906
space frame1912
diagrid1943
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 438 [A bridge] 160 feet long and 22 feet wide, supported by two wooden trussels, and two stone pillars.
1811 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) VIII. 346 A certain quantity of timber for the construction of a pile engine and of a Trustle.
1861 S. Smiles Lives Engineers II. 183 The centres spanning the whole width of the arch were composed of eight ribs each, formed in one piece, resting upon the same number of solid wedges, supported by inclined tressels placed upon longitudinal bearers, firmly fixed to the offsets of the piers and abutments.
1900 Jrnl. School Geogr. (U.S.) Apr. 135 There is not a difficult grade or an embankment or trestle of any importance between New York and Buffalo.
c. See quots.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > work-benches, seats, etc. > [noun] > work-bench > for sawing
Jack1580
sawing trestle1611
horse1718
saw-horse1775
buck1817
trestle1823
sawing-bench1845
sawing horse1846
sawing stool1846
wood-horse1849
sawbuck1855
transom1885
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder iv. 231 Trussels, four-legged stools for ripping and cross~cutting timber upon.
1882 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §517 A trestle, or sawing-stool.
d. See quots.
ΚΠ
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 378 The horse or trestle consists of a strong wooden frame... Upon the middle of this..two uprights and a strong cross beam, for supporting the thick plank upon which the skins are worked.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 93 A high trussel is frequently used, across which the leather is thrown, after undergoing any of the processes.
e. One of the timber props or shores used to support a ship while being built.
ΚΠ
1863 H. W. Longfellow Musician's Tale xiii. xvi, in Tales Wayside Inn 129 Then they launched her from the tressels, In the ship-yard by the sea.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > candleholder > [noun]
trendle1423
paschal1426
shaft?c1450
pan1511
trestle1523
strestell1531
hearse1563
Jesse1706
menorah1886
hanukkiah1939
1523 Will of Richard Broster (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/21) f. 80 ij s to make a Trisell to brenne at Masse.
1546 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 26 Payde for a trisselle and holy candelles.
g. = trestle-tree n. ( Cent. Dict.).
5. transferred and figurative: esp. (plural) applied to the legs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [noun]
shanka900
legc1300
grainsa1400
limbc1400
foot?a1425
stumpa1500
pin?1515
pestlea1529
boughc1550
stamp1567
understander1583
pile1584
supporters1601
walker?1611
trestle1612
fetlock1645
pedestal1695
drumstick1770
gam1785
timber1807
tram1808–18
fork1812
prop1817
nethers1822
forkals1828
understanding1828
stick1830
nether person1835
locomotive1836
nether man1846
underpinning1848
bender1849
Scotch peg1857
Scotch1859
under-pinner1859
stem1860
Coryate's compasses1864
peg1891
wheel1927
shaft1935
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > slip on which ships built or repaired > framework on which vessel rests
stocks1422
trestle1612
cradle1627
boat cradle1829
gridiron1846
skid1856
grid1867
crib1883
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iv. iii. sig. I3 He lookes in that deepe Ruffe, like a Head in a platter, Seru'd in by a short Cloke vpon two tressils . View more context for this quotation
c1620 T. Robinson Mary Magdalene (1899) i. xxv. 232 Or rather cast a due-deuoted glaunce Vpon the marble tressels vnder plac't: But then her douelike feete themselues aduance.
c1620 T. Robinson Mary Magdalene (1899) i. xxv. 1471 Happy wert thou to touch ye tressells bare Of thy beloued, heau'nly paramour.
1650 N. Ward Discolliminium 16 I must not cut off her..legs.., and set her upon Tressels.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV ccxciii, in Poems (1878) IV. 74 The Bishop wth his Colleague Arundel, Were the first Tressells vnto Henrie's Throne.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations:† trestle-candle n. Obsolete cf. 4f.
trestle-bed n. a portable or movable bed supported upon trestles, as used in a hospital tent, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > types of bed > [noun] > portable bed
trestle-bed1870
1870 B. Disraeli Lothair (new ed.) lx Princesses..might be seen by the tressel beds.
trestle-board n. a board laid upon trestles to form a table.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > trestle table > board or plank of
table1440
table-board1538
taffel board1552
table plank1626
trestle-board1856
1856 C. W. Moore (title) New Masonic Trestle-Board, adapted to the work and lectures as practised in the Lodges..of Knights Templars in the United States of America.
trestle-bridge n. a bridge supported upon trestles or trestlework (see 4b).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > bridge > bridge of other specific construction
pile bridge1758
thrusting-bridge1761
frame bridge1809
lock bridge1817
lattice-bridge1838
tubular bridge1850
girder-bridge1854
tubular1861
trestle-bridge1867
deck-bridge1874
transporter-bridge1893
gullet-bridge1896
crib-bridge1899
Bailey bridge1944
1867 W. T. Brande & G. W. Cox Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art (new ed.) III. 846/2 Two or more [trestles] are used for carrying a bridge, called a trestle bridge.
1889 G. Findlay Working & Managem. Eng. Railway 62 A temporary trestle bridge was erected.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > consumables > candle or light > [noun] > burnt on frame
trestle-candle1559
1559 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 90 For ij li...of tryssille candelle.
trestle-post n. cf. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > scaffolding > [noun] > part of > pole
scatch1420
cabera1522
scaffolding pole1759
scaffold pole1798
trestle-post1799
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln 74 He has..conducted the water to a very large wheel, in troughs, upon trussle-posts 20 feet high.
trestle-table n. a table made of a movable board or boards laid upon trestles.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > trestle table
stool table1630
trestle-table1891
1891 Cent. Dict. Trestle-table.
1905 Macmillan's Mag. Nov. 4 A small white bell-tent,..at its door a long trestle-table was set out with a bench on either side.
trestlework n. a framework composed of a series of trestles (of wood or iron) fastened together, for supporting a bridge or viaduct, esp. on a railway.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > framework
frame1558
truss1654
cage-work1756
lathing1756
grillage1776
trestle1796
trestlework1853
hog frame1875
truss-work1884
steel framework1906
space frame1912
diagrid1943
1853 Surv. Vicksburg & Texas R. R. 9 4500 lineal feet trestle-work at $4 a foot.
1861 W. H. Russell in Times 10 July The road led to a cypress swamp, over which the engines bustled..at a perilous rate along a high trestlework.
1891 E. S. Ellis Check No. 2134 xiv. 94 The Express approached a piece of trestle work.
Derivatives
ˈtrestle v. (transitive) to place upon trestles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)] > place (a thing) on for support > on a framework
cradle1775
rack1855
trestle1879
1879 Daily News 7 Apr. 3/3 Having disembarked and ‘tressled’ their boats, the two crews returned to Putney.
trestled adj. /ˈtrɛs(ə)ld/ provided with or supported upon trestles.
/ˈtrɛs(ə)ld/ provided with or supported upon trestles.ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [adjective] > supported > on a stand
mounted1600
trestled1885
1885 B. Harte Maruja v. 108 The black tresselled bed.
ˈtrestlewise adv. in the manner of a trestle (in quot. 1434, ? upon trestles).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [adverb] > in a manner of specific support
trestlewise1434
trivetwise1859
bracket-wise1884
1434 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 102 A litil tabel peynted trestelwise.
ˈtrestling n. a structure of trestles, trestlework.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting framework > of staging
staging1323
trestling1887
stage-work1898
1887 N.Y. Tribune 20 May Trestling.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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