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⇱ portcullis - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

portcullis

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/pɔːrtˈkʌlɪs/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pɔrtˈkʌlɪs/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pôrt kul′is, pōrt-)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
port•cul•lis /pɔrtˈkʌlɪs/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Architecturea strong grating, as of iron, made to slide up and down at the sides of the gateway of a castle.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
port•cul•lis  (pôrt kul′is, pōrt-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Architecture(esp. in medieval castles) a strong grating, as of iron, made to slide along vertical grooves at the sides of a gateway of a fortified place and let down to prevent passage.
  • Vulgar Latin *cōlātīcius; see coulee, -itious
  • Middle French porte coleice, equivalent. to porte port4 + coleice, feminine of coleis flowing, sliding
  • Middle English portecolys 1300–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
portcullis /pɔːtˈkʌlɪs/ n
  1. an iron or wooden grating suspended vertically in grooves in the gateway of a castle or fortified town and able to be lowered so as to bar the entrance
Etymology: 14th Century port colice, from Old French porte coleïce sliding gate, from porte door, entrance + coleïce, from couler to slide, flow, from Late Latin cōlāre to filter
'portcullis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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