topiary

Meanings

1. Of, or relating to art of topiaries.
2. Of a tree or shrub, trimmed in artistic shape.

1. Art or practice of trimming shrubs or trees in artistic or ornamental shapes, e.g. of animals.
2. A garden decorated with such art.
3. One such shrub or tree.

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.