inkstand

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English[edit]

Rococo Italian inkstand, from circa 1753, made of silver gilt

Etymology[edit]

ink +‎ stand

Noun[edit]

inkstand (plural inkstands)

  1. A small tray containing pens and an inkwell; (by extension) a pot for holding ink, inkpot, inkwell.
    • 1765, Laurence Sterne, letter published in Original Letters of the Late Reverend Mr. Laurence Sterne, never before published, London: 1788, pp. 89-90,[1]
      [] if I thought any thing I might hereafter write would be within their reach, I would throw the Manuscript that is now before me into the fire, and never dip my pen into my Ink-stand again []
    • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Mansfield Park: [], volume II, London: [] T[homas] Egerton, [], →OCLC, page 189:
      I beg your pardon for being here. I come to look for you, and after waiting a little while in hope of your coming in, was making use of your inkstand to explain my errand.
    • 1864, Eliza Leslie, chapter 1, in The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners: or, Miss Leslie’s Behaviour Book[2], Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Bros, page 21:
      If you have no ink with you, the first time you go out, stop in at a stationer’s store, and buy a small sixpenny bottle that will stand steadily alone, and answer the purpose of an inkstand.

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