propstick en · NOUN
Etymology
From prop + stick.
Meanings
- Any stick or pole used to prop something up.
-
Formerly, a forked stick used to raise the height of a clothesline with wet washing drying on it; a clothesprop.
When the sun went down she could have seen the assiduous Squeaker lower the new prop-sticks and considerately stoop to gather the pegs his inconsiderate new mate had dropped.
1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 22:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| prop stick | alternative | lexicographic | |
| prop-stick | alternative | lexicographic | |
| propsticks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |