“Wainscoting” refers to wood paneling on the lower third of a wall. More specifically, wainscoting covers the wall from “chair height” down to the floor— it was invented to protect expensive plaster walls from damage if a chair were bumped into it. Wainscoting can be made of a number of different types of paneling, like shiplap, beadboard, etc., but will always have some kind of chair rail or trim at the top and baseboard at the bottom.
