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portcullis

Pronunciation: /pɔːtˈkʌlɪs/

Translate portcullis | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of portcullis

noun

  • a strong, heavy grating that can be lowered down grooves on each side of a gateway to block it.

Derivatives

portcullised

adjective

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French porte coleice 'sliding door', from porte 'door' (from Latin porta) + coleice 'sliding' (feminine of couleis, from Latin colare 'to filter')

portcullis in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of portcullis in the US English dictionary