ventail

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ventail

/ˈvɛn.teɪl/

Where it comes from

From Middle English ventaile (“mail over lower face and neck; lower front piece of helmet; air hole in helmet”), from Old French ventaille (“lower opening in helmet for air”). Related to aventail.

noun ventails · ventaile · ventaille · ventayle

historical Synonym of aventail (“mail curtain or flap, on a helmet or a mail coif, that protects the lower face and neck”). Having unhorsed this enemy and hacked him into submission, the knight rips off his foe's helmet and turns down the mail ventail (protecting the vulnerable throat), perhaps pounds the fellow's face a bit with the pommel of his sword; ...
Similar: aventail
historical The movable front part of a medieval helmet, originally including the visor but later specifically the separate lower section. A comely knight, all arm'd in complete wize, / Through whose bright ventayle lifted vp on hye / His manly face [...] Lookt foorth [...].
historical, rare A vent or breathing-hole in a medieval helmet, for the admission of air. 398. ventayles : a pun on ventails, 'something acting as a sail or fan', and ventails, the air holes or vents in the vizor of a helmet.

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MLA

"ventail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ventail. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ventail. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ventail

Chicago

"ventail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ventail.

BibTeX

@misc{ventail_2026,
  title = {ventail},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ventail},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}