Etymograph

English

easel

Easel comes from Dutch ezel ‘donkey’, and goes back to Latin asinus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasinus1‘ass, donkey’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasellus1‘young ass or small donkey’diminutive of asinus
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*asil1‘donkey’reconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500esel1‘donkey’
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentezel1‘donkey’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1702easel1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English easel
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702, Abel Boyer, CHEVALET: “Chevalet, (chaſſis de bois ſur lequel les Peintres poſent…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasinusWiktionary, English easel‘ass, donkey’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasellusWiktionary, English easel‘young ass or small donkey’diminutive of asinus
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*asilWiktionary, English easel‘donkey’reconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500eselWiktionary, English easel‘donkey’
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentezelWiktionary, English easel‘donkey’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1702easelWiktionary, English easel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702, Abel Boyer, CHEVALET: “Chevalet, (chaſſis de bois ſur lequel les Peintres poſent…”

The story

Borrowed from Dutch ezel (‘donkey; easel’), from Middle Dutch esel (‘donkey’), from Proto-West Germanic *asil, from Latin asellus (‘young ass or small donkey’), diminutive of asinus (‘ass, donkey’), ultimately from an unknown source in Asia Minor.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Essentially, the stand that a painting is placed on is being likened to a donkey carrying a burden; compare horse (‘a frame with legs used to support something’), as in clotheshorse and sawhorse.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin asinus ‘ass, donkey’

ass, asinine, 1 more

Today it means

noun An upright frame, typically on three legs, for displaying or supporting something, such as an artist's canvas.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “easel”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin asinus / easel

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