portcullis

English

A portcullis in Stirling, Scotland

Heraldic representation in the arms of Westminster

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman porte coliz and Old French porte couleice, from porte (“door”) + feminine of couleis (“sliding”), from couler (“to flow”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɔːtˈkʌlɪs/

Noun

portcullis (plural portcullises)

1. A gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the entrance to a castle, fort, etc.
2. (heraldry) A heraldic representation of such a gate used as a charge, often with chains attached; as in the arms of the City of Westminster.
3. (historical) An English coin of the reign of Elizabeth I, struck for the use of the East India Company, and bearing the figure of a portcullis on the reverse.

Translations

gate in the form of a grating

• Belarusian: ге́рса f (hjérsa)
• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: padací mříž (cs) f
• Danish: faldgitter
• Dutch: valhek (nl) n
• Esperanto: herso (eo)
• French: herse (fr) f
• German: Fallgatter (de) n
• Hebrew: שער מתרומם‎ m

• Hungarian: hullórostély
• Italian: inferriata (it) f, saracinesca (it) f
• Polish: brona (pl) f
• Portuguese: grade levadiça f, rastrilho m
• Russian: воро́та подъёмной решётки n pl (voróta podʺjómnoj rešótki), воро́та крепостны́е n pl (voróta krepostnýje), опускна́я решётка f (opusknája rešótka)
• Spanish: rastrillo (es) m
• Swedish: fällgaller n
• Turkish: tarla sürgüsü
• Ukrainian: герса f (hersa)

Verb

portcullis (third-person singular simple present portcullises, present participle portcullising, simple past and past participle portcullised)

1. To obstruct with, or as with, a portcullis; to shut; to bar.
   • 1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II

     ...Within my mouth you have engaol'd my tongue / Doubly portcullis'd with my teeth and lips...

Further reading

• portcullis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for portcullis in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)