newel
Either of two kinds of supporting post in a staircaseEither of two kinds of supporting post in a staircase.: A central pillar around which some types of spiral staircase are spiralled.
Meaning
3 sensesEither of two kinds of supporting post in a staircase.
A central pillar around which some types of spiral staircase are spiralled.
Spindel
коло́нна винтовой лестницыkolónna
the central pillar of a circular staircase
A sturdy pillar at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs, supporting the handrail.
the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail
(obsolete)A novelty; a new thing.
1882: Edmund Spenser (Alexander Balloch Grosart, ed) The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of Edmund Spenser He was so enamoured with the newel.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Inherited from Middle English nowel, *newel, from Old French noel, from either Early MedieInherited from Middle English nowel, *newel, from Old French noel, from either Early Medieval Latin nōdellus (“buckle”, diminutive of nōdus "knot") or Late Latin nucālis (“nut-like”, derivative of nux "nut"). Doublet of noil and noyau.
From new + -el, modelled after novel (“new, original”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: newelsSynonyms
6 synonyms- the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail:newel post
Word family
2 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.