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  1. epergne love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A large table centerpiece consisting of a frame with extended arms or branches supporting holders, as for flowers, fruit, or sweetmeats.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A table centerpiece, usually made of silver, generally consisting of a central bowl with radiating dishes or holders.

Etymologies

  1. French (Wiktionary)
  2. Perhaps alteration of French épargne, a saving, from épargner, to save, from Old French espargnier, of Germanic origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The epergne was a beautiful thing of crystal and gold, a celebrated work of art, regarded as an exquisite possession.”

    T. Tembarom

  • “An epergne," Evans said, smiling at the extravagance of it.”

    The Guardian: Amid the jumble, the story of Britain's age of silver

  • “Other times, it is merely the exact word for a thing that sticks in the mind: instead of using the word “centerpiece,” one might say “epergne.””

    Tourbillon : Ange Mlinko : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation

  • “A pair of candelabra stood either side of the epergne, their light setting the five or six crystal decanters and the silver serving dishes aglitter.”

    Soul

  • “Set defiantly in the center of the jacquard tablecloth was a heavy, flamboyantly molded silver epergne, its stand supported by two Rubens-like female figures.”

    Soul

  • “Cheapside, having invested some money in two desks, several pairs of richly-plated candlesticks, a dinner epergne, and a bagatelle-board.”

    The History of Pendennis

  • “The dinner epergne remained at chambers, and figured at the banquets there, which the Colonel gave pretty freely.”

    The History of Pendennis

  • ““It is not such a dinner as you have seen at her house, with six side-dishes, two flanks, that splendid epergne, and the silver dishes top and bottom; but such as my Rosa has she offers with a willing heart,” cries the Campaigner.”

    The Newcomes

  • “But the dining hall, with its mahogany-lined walls and long refectory table, was empty, the epergne of roses in the centre the only sign of life.”

    Stay Through The Night

  • “They exactly resemble the finest work in frosted silver, the curve of their globular mass of leaves is perfect; and one thinks of them rather as the base of an epergne for an imperial table, or as a prize at Ascot or Goodwood, than as anything organic.”

    The Hawaiian Archipelago

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hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. centerpiece
  1. centrepiece

same context (24)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. morning-coat
  2. cigarette-box
  3. pinko
  4. viaduct
  1. seedpod
  2. novel-writer
  3. procuress
  4. missee
  1. confusion
  2. salvia
  3. Diana
  4. creaminess
  1. portrait-painter
  2. hat-brim
  3. treadmill
  4. sulfadiazine
  1. foxhead
  2. Emporia
  3. mail-coach
  4. saltcellar
  1. gathering-place
  2. dishevelment
  3. music-master
  4. magiman

reverse dictionary (1)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. surtout

tags (3)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. french
  1. container
  1. eee

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Lists

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  • knitandpurl "Czech pewterers mend pewter kettles; then the street sellers sell these mended vessels: ewers, cressets (even epergnes)."
    Eunoia by Christian Bök (upgraded edition), p 104 May 23, 2010

  • chained_bear "Jenny's bookshelf, battered and scarred from the last incursion of Redcoats, three months ago. The big silver epergne. That was slightly dented, but had been too heavy to fit into a soldier's knapsack, and so had escaped the pilfering of smaller objects."
    —Diana Gabaldon, Voyager (NY: Dell, 1994), 67 Jan 13, 2010

  • chained_bear "...each fishing in strict turn and calling or even shrieking out the name of the catch—sauce tureen, small ladle, large ladle, side-dish, cover, a monstrous epergne and so down to the scores of plates, big and little—until the tables overflowed..."
    --Patrick O'Brian, The Letter of Marque, 130 Feb 29, 2008

  • rolig Enter: two rivers, gracefully bearing
    countless little pellucid jellies
    in cut-glass epergnes dragging with silver chains.
    – Elizabeth Bishop, "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore" Oct 9, 2007

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‘epergne’ has been looked up 1772 times, added to 18 lists, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 10.