highboy

highboy
/huy"boy'/, n. U.S. Furniture.
a tall chest of drawers on legs. Also called high chest.
[1890-95]

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also called  tallboy 
 a high or double chest of drawers (known technically as a chest-on-stand and a chest-on-chest, respectively). The name highboy is derived from a corruption of the French bois (“wood”) and became common in English in the late 1600s.

      The prototype of the highboy was the chest of drawers on a stand with turned legs (i.e., shaped on a lathe). The lower section is usually wider than the upper and has three drawers of the same size. The upper section generally consists of another set of three drawers and, on top of them, two or three smaller drawers to complete the sequence. The piece is topped with a cornice. The two sections are divided by wide moldings, in which there is sometimes inserted a slide shelf. Although usually flat-fronted, highboys were occasionally made in a serpentine shape. Later versions were sometimes topped by a curved, or swan-necked, pediment. The feet were usually of the curved ogee, or elongated S, variety, and the handles and keyholes of decorated brass.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Highboy — High boy , n. 1. One who lives high; also, in politics, a highflyer. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. A kind of tall chest of drawers, with drawers up to near or above eye level and fouyr legs at the base; it is often divided into lower and upper… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • highboy — tall chest of drawers, 1891, Amer.Eng. (Cf. TALLBOY (Cf. tallboy)); a hybrid, the second element is from Fr. bois wood (see BUSH (Cf. bush)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • highboy — (Amer.) n. high chest of drawers, tall piece of furniture having many drawers (also tallboy) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • highboy — ☆ highboy [hī′boi΄ ] n. [ HIGH + BOY] a high chest of drawers mounted on legs …   English World dictionary

  • highboy — Tallboy Tall boy , n. 1. A kind of long stemmed wineglass or cup. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. A piece of household furniture common in the eighteenth century, usually in two separate parts, with larger drawers above and smaller ones below and raised …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • highboy — noun A tall chest of drawers raised up on high legs, beginning with the simpler William and Mary style of the late 17th century, culminating in the late baroque 18th century Queen Anne style, progressing into the early Georgian style, with an… …   Wiktionary

  • highboy — noun Date: 1891 a tall chest of drawers with a legged base …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • highboy — high|boy [ˈhaıbɔı] n AmE a piece of tall wooden furniture with many drawers British Equivalent: tallboy …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • highboy — noun N. Amer. a tall chest of drawers on legs …   English new terms dictionary

  • highboy — noun (C) AmE a piece of tall wooden furniture with many drawers; tallboy BrE …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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