postern
Americannoun
-
a back door or gate.
-
a private entrance or any entrance other than the main one.
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of postern
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But most of them opened their postern gates and let Mr. Jones come in with the money he was determined to inject into them.
From Time Magazine Archive
Upon being prompted, however, he went on: "Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest."
From Time Magazine Archive
"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."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
It was a battered wooden postern under a slab of stone.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
The dungeon door was open and the postern gate had been unguarded, just as she had said.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
