Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

topiary

/ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.30 in modern English

Syllables: top-i-ary
IPA: /ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, or relating to art of topiaries.

adj

Of a tree or shrub, trimmed in artistic shape.

noun

Art or practice of trimming shrubs or trees in artistic or ornamental shapes, e.g. of animals.

Uncountable

noun

A garden decorated with such art.

Countable

noun

One such shrub or tree.

Countable

Example Sentences

"As the topiary art has been allowed to practically die out, it is difficult to secure the services of skilled clippers."
"The palace garden might have had a semblance of coolness had there been any trees, but the tallest things were fanciful topiary, tortured into the shapes of running horses or bears performing tumblers’ tricks or the like."
"We have topiaries for sale."

Etymology

From Latin topiarius (“of or relating to ornamental gardening; an ornamental garden, an ornamental gardener”), from Latin topia (“ornamental gardening, landscape painting”), from Ancient Greek τόπια (tópia, “artistic representation in which natural or artificial features of a place are used as the medium”), plural of Ancient Greek τόπιον (tópion, “field, landscape”), from τόπος (tópos, “place”). The adjective use dates to 1592, the noun use dates to 1908.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/
British English: /ˈtəʊpjəɹi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

topiaries (plural)

Derived Forms

topiarian topiaried topiarist

Frequently Paired Words

arborsculpture bonsai espalier

Questions

How do you pronounce topiary?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/.
What does topiary mean?: Of, or relating to art of topiaries.
Where does topiary come from?: From Latin topiarius (“of or relating to ornamental gardening; an ornamental garden, an ornamental gardener”), from Latin topia (“ornamental gardening, landscape painting”), from Ancient Greek τόπια (tópia, “artistic representation in which natural or artificial features of a place are used as the medium”), plural of Ancient Greek τόπιον (tópion, “field, landscape”), from τόπος (tópos, “place”). The adjective use dates to 1592, the noun use dates to 1908.

How to pronounce topiary

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “topiary”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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