tester  
?noun a canopy, as over a bed or altar.
Origin:
1350?1400; ME < ML testrum canopy of a bed; akin to L testa covering. See test 2
tes⋅ter3  /ˈtɛstər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [tes-ter] Show IPA
?noun the teston of Henry VIII.
Origin:
1540?50; earlier testorn, var. of teston, with -r- from MF testart teston
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source |Link To tester
tester
n. One that tests: a battery tester; a taste tester.
tester
n. A canopy, as over a bed or pulpit.
[Middle English, from Medieval Latin testrum, from Late Latin testa, skull, from Latin, shell.]
tester
n. See teston.
[Alteration of teston.]
teston
n.
A 16th-century French silver coin.
An English coin stamped with the image of Henry VIII's head. In this sense, also called tester.
[French, from Italian testone, augmentative of testa, head, from Late Latin, skull, from Latin, shell.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tester
"one who tests," 1661, from test.
tester
"canopy over a bed," c.1380, from M.L. testerium, from testera "head stall," from L.L. testa (capitis) "skull," from L., lit. "earthenware, pot." The "head" sense (originally merely humorous) is the source of tester in obs. senses of "piece of armor for the head" (c.1386) and "coin of Henry VIII" (1546), the first Eng. coin to bear a true portrait. For sense development, cf. O.E. cuppe "cup" from source of Ger. kopf "head."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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canopy, usually of carved or cloth-draped wood, over a bed, tomb, pulpit, or throne. It dates from the 14th century and is usually made of the same material as the object it covers. It can be supported either by four posts, by two posts at the foot and a headpiece at the back, or by suspension from the ceiling. The edges may overhang and in some cases are decorated with incised work or a fabric valance. The word, derived from the late Latin testa ("head"
, came into use in the Middle Ages, originally referring only to the vertical headpiece.
canopy, usually of carved or cloth-draped wood, over a bed, tomb, pulpit, or throne. It dates from the 14th century and is usually made of the same material as the object it covers. It can be supported either by four posts, by two posts at the foot and a headpiece at the back, or by suspension from the ceiling. The edges may overhang and in some cases are decorated with incised work or a fabric valance. The word, derived from the late Latin testa (?head?), came into use in the Middle Ages, originally referring only to the vertical headpiece.
Perhaps the most notable and widespread use of the tester was in bed design. Sixteenth- and 17th-century testers were frequently massive in construction and featured elaborate carving of the canopy over the bed and of its supporting posts. In the 18th century, testers over beds became lighter and more purely decorative, in part because of the development of smaller, more intimate rooms in northern European residences. Popular in 19th-century England, the characteristic full tester bed featured detailed front posts on a vase-turned section resting on block supports. Also popular in America at the beginning of the 19th century was the closely related field bed, with an arched tester over a light, plain framework. A half tester is supported only at the head of the bed.
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Aspects of the topic tester are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
Assorted References
history of beds ( in bed (furniture) )
Fifteenth-century western European beds had a paneled back with carved columns at the front corners, supporting a canopy, or tester, from which hung curtains that enclosed the four bedposts. A remarkable feature of these beds was their size, as large as 8 by 7 feet (240 by 210 cm); it has been supposed that several people slept in them.
Citations
MLA Style:
"tester." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 07 Oct. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/588729/tester>.
APA Style:
tester. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 07, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/588729/tester
