faldstool

American  

[fawld-stool] / ˈfɔldˌstul /

noun

1. a chair or seat, originally one capable of being folded, used by a bishop or other prelate when officiating in his own church away from his throne or in a church not his own.

2. a movable folding stool or desk at which worshipers kneel during certain acts of devotion.

3. such a stool placed at the south side of the altar, at which the kings or queens of England kneel at their coronation.

4. a desk at which the litany is said or sung.

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faldstool British  

/ ˈfɔːldˌstuːl /

noun

1. a backless seat, sometimes capable of being folded, used by bishops and certain other prelates

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Etymology

Origin of faldstool

1595–1605; < Medieval Latin faldistolium < West Germanic *faldistōl (compare Old High German faltistuol, late Old English fældestōl, fyldestōl ); see fold ¹, stool; cf. fauteuil

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

faldstool

At a faldstool on the left of the altar, the Queen knelt and prayed alone.

From Time Magazine Archive

The small desk or stand from which the Litany is read is sometimes called a faldstool, and a similar stool is provided for the use of the sovereign at his coronation.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various

He set this up in his chamber over a faldstool, and said three Paters and nine Aves before it daily.

From The Forest Lovers by Hewlett, Maurice Henry

Medieval Latin constructed the compound faldestolium, whence our ecclesiastical faldstool, a litany desk.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest

And involuntarily her eyes travelled over the room, over the crucifix above the faldstool, the little altar to St. Joseph, the worn books upon his table.

From Helbeck of Bannisdale — Volume II by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.