portcullis
English · Thesaurus
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portcullis
- /pɔːtˈkʌl.ɪs/ UK
- /pɔɹtˈkʌl.ɪs/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English portcolyse, from Old French porte colëice, from porte (“door”) + feminine of colëiz (“sliding”), ultimately from Latin colāre.
noun portcullises · portcullisses · portculli · portscullis · percullice · portclose
-
A gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc.
Similar: cataract
- An old English coin from the reign of Elizabeth I, minted for the use of the East India Company, and bearing the picture of a portcullis on the reverse.
verb portcullises · portcullisses · portcullising · portcullissing · portcullised
- To obstruct with, or as with, a portcullis; to shut; to bar. […]Within my mouth you haue engaold my tongue, / Doubly portculliſt with my teeth and lippes[…]
Translations
Every language
noun gate in the form of a grating
| Español | rastrillo |
|---|---|
| Português | grade levadiça, rastrilho |
| Français | herse |
| Deutsch | Fallgatter |
| Italiano | inferriata, saracinesca |
| Русский | ге́рса gérsa, порт-кули́с port-kulís |
| עברית | שער מתרומם |
Talk about this word "portcullis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/portcullis. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. portcullis. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/portcullis "portcullis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/portcullis.Cite this
@misc{portcullis_2026,
title = {portcullis},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/portcullis},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
