balustrade
nounUK /ˌbæl.əˈstɹeɪd/ · US /ˈbæl.ə.stɹeɪd/
Etymology Unadapted borrowing from French balustrade, from Italian balaustrata (“with balusters”), from balaustro (“baluster”), from balausta (“wild pomegranate flower”), via Latin balaustium, from Ancient Greek βαλαύστιον (balaústion), from Semitic, compare Classical Syriac ܒܠܳܨܳܐ (blāṣā, “pomegranate shoot”)). So named because of resemblance to the swelling form of the half-open pomegranate flower. Also see baluster.
1
A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
- So on a pleasant morning, as he leant / Into the sun-rise, o’er the balustrade [...]1820, John Keats, “Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil. A Story from Boccaccio.”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, stanza XXIII, page 60:
- The Jester sat down on one of the marble balustrades and regarded Alvin with a curious intentness.1956, Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, page 45:
- Derived terms
- balustraded, balustrading
- Related terms
- baluster
- Hypernyms
- parapet