espalier

UK: /ɪˈspæljə/ US: (i spal′yər, -yā)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

es•pal•ier  (i spal′yər, -yā), n. 

1. Botany a trellis or framework on which the trunk and branches of fruit trees or shrubs are trained to grow in one plane.
2. Botany a plant so trained.

v.t. 

3. Botany to train on an espalier.
4. to furnish with an espalier.

• Italian spalliera back rest, espalier, equivalent. to spall(a) shoulder, support + -iera -ier²
• French, Middle French: trellis
• 1655–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

espalier / ɪˈspæljə/ noun

1. an ornamental shrub or fruit tree that has been trained to grow flat, as against a wall
2. the trellis, framework, or arrangement of stakes on which such plants are trained

verb

1. (transitive) to train (a plant) on an espalier

Etymology: 17th Century: from French: trellis, from Old Italian: shoulder supports, from spalla shoulder, from Late Latin spatula