maulstick means A short stick with a pad on one end, used by a painter to steady their hand, and to prevent it from accidentally touching the painting. It carries an Arena rating of 1553, earned across 88 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, maulstick ranks #399 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,056 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,438 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,287 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
maulstick is pronounced /ˈmɔːl.stɪk/.
Why “maulstick” is a great word
MAULSTICK — [Noun] A short stick with a padded end, used by a painter to steady the hand and prevent it from touching the wet painting surface. Its name is a partial translation of the Dutch *maalstok*, from obsolete *malen* ("to paint") + *stok* ("stick"); first attested in English in the 1650s. Unlike an "easel" (the stationary frame that holds the canvas) or a "mahlstick" (merely its German spelling variant), the maulstick is a mobile fulcrum for the working hand. It is the gentle pressure of its padded tip against dry linen, the precise arc it allows a brushstroke to complete, and the ghostly trail of tiny indentations left in the paint's skin—a humble confession that the human hand, unaided, is too mortal an instrument for the work of making permanence.
Etymology
From German Mahlstock.
noun
- A short stick with a pad on one end, used by a painter to steady their hand, and to prevent it from accidentally touching the painting.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- mouthstick 57% match — A rodlike prop used by jugglers, held between the teeth and primarily used for balancing objects on. vs maulstick →
- mopstick 56% match — The long handle of a mop. vs maulstick →
- pushstick 55% match — A hand-held piece of wood or other material used in woodwork to control the motion of the workpiece and to protect the user's hands from the blade. vs maulstick →
- maul 54% match — A heavy long-handled hammer, used for splitting logs by driving a wedge into them, or in combat. vs maulstick →
- musicstick 54% match — A kind of drumstick used by striking one against another, to maintain rhythm in Aboriginal voice chants. vs maulstick →
- makila 53% match — A traditional Basque walking stick with a point or blade concealed in the pommel. vs maulstick →
- handstick 51% match — A stick held in the hand and used in juggling disciplines such as devil sticks, flower sticks, diabolo, etc. vs maulstick →
- quarterstaff 51% match — A wooden staff with an approximate length between 2 and 2.5 meters, sometimes tipped with iron, used as a weapon in rural England during the Early Modern period. vs maulstick →