highboy

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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See high and lowboy.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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highboy (plural highboys)

Philadelphia highboy (State Dept. collection), ca. 1760
  1. A tall chest of drawers that is raised up on high legs.
    Hypernym: tallboy
    Coordinate term: lowboy
    • 1897, Katharine Lee Bates, American Literature:
      mahogany highboys glittering with brass handles
    • 1929 June, Herbert Cescinsky, “American furniture problems”, in The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, volume 54, number 315, page 313:
      [] the well-known Pennsylvania "Highboy," which is only the English "Tallboy" double-chest elevated on cabriole legs []
    • (US) National Gallery of Art
      During the Queen Anne period in America, the highboy attained its characteristic form. [...] The cabriole leg was a distinctive feature developed in the Queen Anne period; its shape repeats the S-curve that dominated all Queen Anne design.
  2. (dated) One who enjoys the high life.
  3. (dated) A political highflier.

Translations

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