A wooden frame or stand used in art, metalworking, or other crafts to hold work in progress; also a small horse-shaped stand.
From French 'chevalet,' the diminutive of 'cheval' (horse), because the stands typically have four legs that resemble those of a horse.
Artists still call their easels 'chevalet stands' in some European languages—the horse-shaped stand has been so useful for centuries that the medieval name stuck around even as other technology changed.
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