Portcullises

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A heavy grilled or barred door that can be lowered or raised to protect an entrance or passageway
2. A defensive mechanism typically found in castles, used to block access through a gateway
3. A security feature that consists of a vertically operating gate designed to secure the threshold of fortified structures

Etymology: The word "portcullises" is simply the plural of "portcullis," so the real story belongs to the singular. A portcullis is a heavy grille of timber or iron that slides up and down in grooves beside a castle gate, dropping to bar an entrance in seconds. Its name comes from Middle English "portcolyse," borrowed from Old French "porte colëice." The first part, "porte," means "door" (the same word that gives English "port" in the sense of a gateway), and the second part is the feminine form of "colëiz," meaning "sliding." That adjective traces back to Latin "colāre," meaning "to strain" or "to filter," which gives the sense of something that runs or glides. So the name literally describes a door that slides, a plain and practical label for a defensive device that moved on its own rails rather than swinging on hinges.

Synonyms: grilles, gates, barriers, closures, obstructions