Faldistory

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A portable, backless seat used by a bishop in church ceremonies, often set up in the sanctuary or during processions
2. The folding chair without arms that a bishop occupies at services outside his usual throne in a cathedral
3. An ecclesiastical seat, traditionally of folding construction, that a bishop uses during rites and processions

Etymology: The "faldistory" is a folding stool, and its name is a compound of two Germanic words that describe exactly what it is. The first element comes from Old High German "faldan" or "faltan," meaning "to fold," which is related to the modern German "falten." The second is "stuol," meaning "stool." Together they describe a seat that could be folded or laid together for carrying. The word passed into Latin as "faldistōrium" or "faldestōrium," and it was the Latin form that gave English its term. English also has the older "faldstool," which is a doublet of the same word, so the two forms share one origin but reached English by different routes. "Foldstool" is a further variant of the same shape, and "fauteuil," the French word for an armchair, comes from the same source.