postern
Pronunciation: /ˈpɒst(ə)n/
The English word “postern” has 11 meanings listed here.
noun
- A back door or gate, side entrance, or other entrance distinct from the main one, especially one that is private or not obvious.
- A hidden or secret exit or tunnel of a fortification such as a castle, city wall, or fort.
- Any way in or out of a place, especially a hidden one; an entrance or exit.
- An underground passage communicating between a main ditch and a parade, or between the ditches and the interior of the outworks.
- A means of escape; an escape route.
- A dishonourable or unconventional means of doing something.
- The back or rear part of a thing.
- The buttocks of a person; behind, posterior.
adjective
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English postern, posterne (“side door or gate; small entranceway; hidden or secret door or passage”), from Late Latin posterna, and from its likely etymon Anglo-Norman posterne and Old French posterne (“hidden exit from a fortified building; back door; small door”) (modern French poterne), a variant of posterle (“back door or passage”) (although this is attested…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.