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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Beneath a yew They lighted: a faldstool by shady pines O'erhung, was spread with Alexandrine silk.

From La Chanson de Roland : Translated from the Seventh Edition of Léon Gautier by Rabillon, Léonce

She then kneeled upon her faldstool, and the choir sang 'Veni, Creator, Spiritus.'

From Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen — Volume 1 by Tytler, Sarah

In the intervals, angels seated on faldstool thrones, and bearing stars; also two popinjays.

From Needlework As Art by Alford, Marianne Margaret Compton Cust, Viscountess

If, however, for "footstool" we read "faldstool," His Royal Highness's apparently uncomfortable position becomes intelligible.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, Nov. 11, 1887 by Various