Faldstool

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small portable seat or kneeling stool, typically used by a bishop or senior cleric during Christian religious ceremonies
2. A lightweight folding stool or bench designed for kneeling, historically employed by clergy in liturgical worship
3. A low portable seat used for kneeling or sitting during church services, especially by bishops and other church officials

Etymology: Faldstool is a variant spelling of "foldstool," a folding stool, and the word's story is really the story of that older form. The compound combines "fold" with "stool," describing a seat that could be folded up and carried about. Its most notable use was in church: a faldstool was a portable, folding chair used by a bishop during services, which explains why the form survives mainly in ecclesiastical and historical contexts rather than everyday speech.

Synonyms: folding stool