Quintain

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkwɪntɪn/

Definitions

1. A medieval training apparatus featuring a rotating arm on a post that provided a target for jousting practice
2. A historical device designed to enhance a knight's precision by serving as a pivotal target for mounted combat training
3. A rotating arm fixed on a post used in medieval times to help knights practice lance strikes while mounted

Etymology: The quintain was a practice target for medieval knights: a post with a crossbar or a shield on a pivot, which a rider struck with a lance while galloping past. If the rider was slow or struck badly, the swinging arm could whack him on the back, which is why the sport was more about avoiding the counterswing than hitting the mark. The word arrived in English from Anglo-Norman "quintaine" and Middle French "quintaine," which is probably rooted in Latin "quīntāna," a term for the street that divided the fifth and sixth maniples in a Roman army camp. How a camp street became a jousting dummy is not fully explained. The Latin connection rests on the "fifth" idea, and the most plausible link is that the sporting practice, or the place where it was held, took the name from a similar dividing street or open lane, though the exact chain of meanings is uncertain. What is clear is that the word belonged to the Norman-French vocabulary of the medieval tournament.

Synonyms: target