Ventayle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The movable lower part of a medieval helmet, a flap of mail or plate that protected the wearer's chin, throat and neck
2. A hanging piece of chain mail attached to a knight's helmet that shielded the lower face and neck in battle
3. Part of an armoured headpiece, usually of mail, that could be raised or lowered to guard the throat and jaw

Etymology: The word is an obsolete spelling of "ventail", a piece of medieval armour: the movable lower part of a helmet that could be raised or lowered to let in air and protect the chin and neck. Its name comes from the Old French "ventaille", meaning a lower opening in a helmet for air, and the word is built on "vent", "wind" or "air", the same root that gives English "ventilate". Middle English took the word as "ventaile", which was used for three related things: a mail covering over the lower face and neck, a lower front piece of a helmet, and the air hole itself. The sense of breathing hole seems to have come first, and the armour names grew out of it, so a word for an opening in the metal gradually came to name the metal that covered the face. The related "aventail" shows a different early form, with an extra letter at the front, and the two words are closely connected in the history of the same armour.