postern
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word postern. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word postern, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say postern in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word postern you have here. The definition of the word postern will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofpostern, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Postern
English
Etymology
From Old French posterne, alteration of posterle, from Late Latin posterula (“back door”), from Latin posterus (“later”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɒst(ə)n/, /ˈpəʊst(ə)n/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɑstɚn/, /ˈpoʊstɚn/
Noun
postern (plural posterns)
- A back gate, back door, side entrance, or other gateway distinct from the main entrance.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “ij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XII:
- And as they cam hurlyng vnder the Castel where as sir launcelot lay in wyndowe / & sawe how two knyghtes layd vpon syr Blyaunt with their swerdes / […] / And thenne sir launcelot brake the chaynes fro his legges and of his armes / […] / & so sir launcelot ran out at a posterne / and there he mett with the two knyȝtes that chaced sir Blyaunt
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 52:
- He by a privy postern took his flight.
- c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
- Out at the postern, by the abbey wall.
- (archaic) By extension, a separate or hidden way in or out of a place, situation etc.
- (historical, military) A subterranean passage communicating between the parade and the main ditch, or between the ditches and the interior of the outworks.
- 1850, Dennis Hart Mahan, Summary of the Course of Permanent Fortification and of the Attack and Defence of Permanent Works:
- The postern of the enceinte leads through the middle of the curtain, descending from the plane of sight to the ditch
Translations
secondary gateway
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Adjective
postern (comparative more postern, superlative most postern)
- Situated at the rear; posterior.
Translations
situated at the rear
|
See also
Anagrams
Swedish
Noun
postern