Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A handrail, especially on a staircase.
- noun Such a handrail together with its supporting structures.
- noun One of the vertical supports of a handrail; a baluster.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Corrupt forms of
baluster . - noun A handle-brush used in spinning- and weaving-mills for cleaning the gearing of machinery.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A baluster.
- noun The balustrade of a staircase. Formerly used in this sense mostly in the plural, now mostly in the singular.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
handrail on the side of astaircase . - noun One of the
vertical supports of a handrail; abaluster .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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“The banister is an especially interesting piece,” Lowell said as they continued the tour.
Mind Games Paul Ruditis 2006
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“The banister is an especially interesting piece,” Lowell said as they continued the tour.
Mind Games Paul Ruditis 2006
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Dangling from the banister was a cardboard notice, which read:
Maigret and the Madwoman—Simenon, Georges - 100 Simenon, Georges 1970
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She won't admit it, though, and laughs and kisses her hand over the banister, which is all the closer we have seen her yet.
Mary Cary "Frequently Martha" Kate Langley Bosher 1898
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BALUSTER (through the Fr. from the Ital. _balaustro_, so-called from a supposed likeness to the flower of the [Greek: balaustion], or wild pomegranate; the word has been corrupted in English into "banister"), a small moulded shaft, square or circular, in stone or wood and sometimes in metal, supporting the coping of a parapet or the rail of a staircase, an assemblage of them being known as a balustrade.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" Various
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Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal The couple also restored some of the brownstone's original features, such as the five marble fireplaces, the exposed brick and stone, and the banister of the staircase, which has recycled carpeting.
Healthy Living in Bed-Stuy Maya Pope-Chappell 2011
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Another childhood experience influenced the meal: Mayonnaise was banned because Fallon once got his head stuck in a banister at his grandparents' house, and they smeared mayo on it to squeeze him out.
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Her hands slide down the wall as she uses the column of the banister to help her up.
A Prince of Darkness Julia Sinwell 2011
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The banister shook under his grip as he pulled himself up the stairs.
Raven V.C Andrews 2011
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The couple also restored some of the brownstone's original features, such as the five marble fireplaces, the exposed brick and stone and the banister of the staircase, which has recycled carpeting.
Healthy Bent In Bed-Stuy Maya Pope-Chappell 2011
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