pontlevis
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of pontlevis
1480–90; < French, equivalent to pont bridge (< Latin pont-, stem of pōns ) + levis (< Vulgar Latin *levāticius liftable, adj. derivative of Latin levāre to lift
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.
He bade us haste if we wished to quit the Louvre ere the pontlevis were raised, and hurrying after him we made our way to the southern gate, the only one open.
From Orrain A Romance by Levett-Yeats, S.
Almost had we freed it when the trumpet sounded again, and with a rattling of chains the huge pontlevis rose.
From Orrain A Romance by Levett-Yeats, S.
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.
