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newel

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newel¹

  • /ˈnjuː.əl/ UK
  • /ˈnu.əl/ US
  • /ˈnju.əl/ US

Rhymes with -uːəl, -uːl

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English nowel, *newel, from Old French noel, from either Early Medieval Latin nōdellus (“buckle”, diminutive of nōdus "knot") or Late Latin nucālis (“nut-like”, derivative of nux "nut"). Doublet of noil and noyau.

noun newels

  1. A central pillar around which some types of spiral staircase are spiralled.

    Similar: newel post, spindle

  2. A sturdy pillar at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs, supporting the handrail. We went along the hall to the end and up a flight of stairs with a carved handrail and newel post.

    Similar: newel post

newel²

  • /ˈnjuː.əl/ UK
  • /ˈnu.əl/ US
  • /ˈnju.əl/ US

Rhymes with -uːəl, -uːl

Where it comes from

From new + -el, modelled after novel (“new, original”).

noun newels

  1. obsolete A novelty; a new thing. 1882: Edmund Spenser (Alexander Balloch Grosart, ed) The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of Edmund Spenser He was so enamoured with the newel.

    Similar: newie, new one, newun, new'un

Translations

Every language

noun central pillar of staircase

Españolalma
Françaisnoyau
DeutschSpindel
Русскийколо́нна винтовой лестницы kolónna

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Cite this
MLA

"newel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/newel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

newel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/newel

Chicago

"newel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/newel.

BibTeX
@misc{newel_2026,
  title = {newel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/newel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}