quintain

noun /ˈkwɪntɪn/

1. An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice.

   historical

   Are all thrown down; and that which here stands up Is but a quintain, a mere lifeless block.

   My better parts

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman quintaine, quinteine, Middle French quintaine, probably from Latin quīntāna (“street separating fifth and sixth maniples in a Roman camp”), feminine form of quīntānus (“pertaining to the fifth”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry quintain (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← quinqueremequintate →

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