wainscot

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   paneling, traditionally wooden, covering the lower part of an interior wall

   Dark oak wainscot lined the dining room below the plaster.

2. 2
   verb

   to line or panel a wall, room, or surface with boards

   The settlers used split timber to wainscot the earthen ceiling.

From Middle English waynscot, borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wagenschot, a term for high-quality oak boards and paneling. English first named the material and then the paneled area itself; the noun subsequently produced the verb 'to panel.'

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