portcullis : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: portcullis	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for portcullis
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
portcullis n gate consisting of an iron or wooden grating that hangs in the entry to a castle or fortified town; can be lowered to prevent passage
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Portcullis \Portcul"lis\, n. [OF. porte coulisse, cole[8b]ce, a sliding door, fr. L. colare, colatum, to filter, to strain: cf. F. couler to glide. See {Port} a gate, and cf. {Cullis}, {Colander}.] 1. (Fort.) A grating of iron or of timbers pointed with iron, hung over the gateway of a fortress, to be let down to prevent the entrance of an enemy. [bd]Let the portcullis* fall.[b8] --Sir W. Scott. She . . . the huge portcullis high updrew. --Milton. 2. An English coin of the reign of Elizabeth, struck for the use of the East India Company; -- so called from its bearing the figure of a portcullis on the reverse.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Portcullis \Port*cul"lis\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Portcullised}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Portcullising}.] To obstruct with, or as with, a portcullis; to shut; to bar. [R.] --Shak.