atelier

at•el•ier (AT-l-yey, at-l-YEY)  n

Definition:
a workshop or studio, especially of an artist, artisan, or designer

Origin:
1699, from French atelier, from O.Fr. astelier "(carpenter's) workshop, woodpile," from astele "piece of wood, a shaving, splinter," probably from L.L. hastella "a thin stick," dim. of hasta "spear, shaft"

Related:
Synonyms: studio, workshop, gallery, salon, workroom

Sentence Examples:
• The large room was closely packed with easels—so closely, indeed, that an inadvertent motion of hand or foot often sent a wave of excitement through the whole atelier. Heads of every color, from youthful flaxen to venerable gray, were bent over their labors.  - Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature, 1878

• When he reached the upper landing of the spiral ascent, he paused a moment before laying hold of a grotesque knocker which ornamented the door of the atelier where the famous painter of Henry IV — neglected by Marie de Medicis for Rubens — was probably at work. - The Hidden Masterpiece, Honore de Balzac

• Irma spent much of her time in the atelier, and worked assiduously. - On the Heights - Berthold Auerbach


Sources:Dictionary.com, Online Etymology

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