(especially in medieval castles) a strong grating, as of iron, made to slide along vertical grooves at the sides of a gateway of a fortified place and let down to prevent passage.
Origin
1300-50;Middle Englishportecolys < Middle Frenchporte coleice, equivalent to porteport4 + coleice, feminine of coleis flowing, sliding < Vulgar Latin*cōlātīcius; see coulee, -itious
Examples from the web for portcullis
In the biographer's ears rang the sound of the portcullis crashing down.
Olga's door is a retrofitted portcullis of makeshift armor plate.
British Dictionary definitions for portcullis
portcullis
/pɔːtˈkʌlɪs/
noun
1.
an iron or wooden grating suspended vertically in grooves in the gateway of a castle or fortified town and able to be lowered so as to bar the entrance
Word Origin
C14 port colice, from Old French porte coleïce sliding gate, from porte door, entrance + coleïce, from couler to slide, flow, from Late Latin cōlāre to filter
Word Origin and History for portcullis
n.
also port-cullis, c.1300, from Old French porte coleice "sliding gate" (c.1200, Modern French porte à coulisse), from porte "gate" (see port (n.2)) + coleice "sliding, flowing," fem. of coleis, from Latin colatus, past participle of colare "to filter, strain" (see colander).