bal·us·ter

(băl′ə-stər)

a. One of the upright, usually rounded or vase-shaped supports of a balustrade.

b. An upright support, such as a furniture leg, having a similar shape.

2. One of the supporting posts of a handrail.

[French balustre, from Italian balaustro, from balaustra, pomegranate flower (from a resemblance to the post), from Latin balaustium, from Greek balaustion, probably from a Semitic source akin to Syriac blaṣ, to bud, flower, and perhaps to Tigrinya bäläṣä, to be superior.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

baluster

(ˈbæləstə)

(Architecture) any of a set of posts supporting a rail or coping

adj

(Antiques) (of a shape) swelling at the base and rising in a concave curve to a narrow stem or neck: a baluster goblet stem.

[C17: from French balustre, from Italian balaustro pillar resembling a pomegranate flower, ultimately from Greek balaustion]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bal•us•ter

(ˈbæl ə stər)

n.

1. any of a number of closely spaced supports for a railing.

2. balusters, a balustrade.

3. any of various symmetrical supports, as furniture legs or spindles, tending to swell toward the bottom or top.

[1595–1605; < French, Middle French balustre < Italian balaustro pillar shaped like the calyx of the pomegranate flower « Latin balaustium pomegranate flower < GK balaústion]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

baluster - one of a number of closely spaced supports for a railing

balusters, balustrade, banister, handrail, bannister - a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling

support - any device that bears the weight of another thing; "there was no place to attach supports for a shelf"

Translations

balustre

balaustro colonnina pilastrino balaustra

balaústre

балясина

балясина

baluster

n → Baluster m, → Balustersäule f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature

We will leave Danglars struggling with the demon of hatred, and endeavoring to insinuate in the ear of the shipowner some evil suspicions against his comrade, and follow Dantes, who, after having traversed La Canebiere, took the Rue de Noailles, and entering a small house, on the left of the Allees de Meillan, rapidly ascended four flights of a dark staircase, holding the baluster with one hand, while with the other he repressed the beatings of his heart, and paused before a half-open door, from which he could see the whole of a small room.

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With that I leaped over the low baluster that surrounded the balcony, and with drawn long-sword faced my enemies.

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She went down the stairs and he leaned over the baluster above her.

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I had slidden down the balusters when I was a boy, and thought nothing of it, but to slide down the balusters in a railway-train is a thing to make one's flesh creep.

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The balusters were decorated with emblems of the Four Evangelists.

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And as he hung over the balusters, watching for his father to appear, he had hard ado to keep himself braced for the encounter that must follow.

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At the first landing you run up against a pail and a broom, whereupon "mother" expatiates upon the unreliability of servant-girls, and bawls over the balusters for Sarah to come and take them away at once.

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The balusters were a superb piece of workmanship, and the wall all the way up was oak-panelled, with carving that would have done credit to a palace.

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They are generally cylindrical or vase shaped, although ovoid and baluster examples exist, while in 1785, London silversmiths Carter, Smith and Sharp made an argyle of helmet outline.

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The house, built from mud and stony rocks and decorated with a raised ceiling of wooden baluster, thin rails and palm leaves, has many rooms and big private courtyards.(end).

Al-Bader House .. one of the surviving pre-oil houses in Kuwait