POSTERN Definition & Meaning

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postern

[ poh-stern, pos-tern ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a back door or gate.
a private entrance or any entrance other than the main one.

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a postern.

postern

/ ˈ��ɒ��ə�� /

noun

a back door or gate, esp one that is for private use

adjective

situated at the rear or the side

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of postern¹

1250–1300; Middle English posterne < Old French, variant of posterle < Late Latin posterula, diminutive of postera back door, noun use of feminine of posterus coming behind. See posterior, -ule

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of postern¹

C13: from Old French posterne, from Late Latin posterula ( ��Գܲ� ) a back (entrance), from posterus coming behind; see posterior , posterity

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

By then they were more than halfway to the hospice, but it was nearly dark when they reached St. Mark’s and were admitted by the porter at the postern gate.

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The postern was closed again, the iron door was barred and piled inside with stones.

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It was a battered wooden postern under a slab of stone.

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He saw three gates during his wanderings—the main entrance with its gatehouse, a postern by the kennels, and a garden gate hidden behind a tangle of pale ivy.

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"Y'Grace," he said quietly, "the boys caught a groom and two maidservants trying to sneak out a postern with three of the king's horses."

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