noun
standish
noun
1
A stand or holder for pens, ink, and other writing tools, once common on desks before modern pens existed.
"The antique shop displayed a silver standish that once sat on a Victorian writing desk."
"She inherited her grandfather's brass standish, complete with its original glass inkwell."
How to Use Standish
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn old-fashioned desk stand for holding pens and ink.
Memory tip
You will mostly meet this word in descriptions of antique furniture or historical fiction, not in everyday speech.
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standishes plural
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The antique shop displayed a silver _____ that once sat on a Victorian writing desk.
Etymology
From Middle English standisshe, likely built from "stand" plus a suffix, describing an object that holds writing tools upright on a desk.