portcullis

[ pawrt-kuhl-is, pohrt- ]
/ pɔrtˈkʌl ɪs, poʊrt- /

noun

(especially in medieval castles) a strong grating, as of iron, made to slide along vertical grooves at the sides of a gateway of a fortified place and let down to prevent passage.

Origin of portcullis

1300–50; Middle English portecolys < Middle French porte coleice, equivalent to porte port4 + coleice, feminine of coleis flowing, sliding < Vulgar Latin *cōlātīcius; see coulee, -itious

Example sentences from the Web for portcullis

British Dictionary definitions for portcullis

portcullis
/ (pɔːtˈkʌlɪs) /

noun

an iron or wooden grating suspended vertically in grooves in the gateway of a castle or fortified town and able to be lowered so as to bar the entrance

Word Origin for portcullis

C14 port colice, from Old French porte coleïce sliding gate, from porte door, entrance + coleïce, from couler to slide, flow, from Late Latin cōlāre to filter