quintain

[ kwin-tn ]

/ ˈkwɪn tn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quintain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an object mounted on a post or attached to a movable crossbar mounted on a post, used as a target in the medieval sport of tilting.

the sport of tilting at a quintain.

RELATED WORDS

center, target, butt, omphalos

Nearby words

quint, quint major, quint minor, quint., quinta, quintain, quintal, quintan, quintana roo, quintant, quinte

Origin of quintain

1400–50; late Middle English quyntain object for tilting at < Middle French quintaine or Medieval Latin quintāna, of obscure origin; the alleged connection with Latin quīntāna “market place in a military camp” is dubious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quintain

Tilting at the quintain was a favourite sport at festive gatherings.
Cassell's History of England, Vol. I (of 9)|Anonymous
Accordingly she once more betook herself to the quintain post.
Barchester Towers|Anthony Trollope
It is the custom to hoist married men, who are not blest with children, on the quintain, which is made to revolve rapidly.
Old English Sports|Peter Hampson Ditchfield
Then there was the very ancient game of the quintain, which consisted of an upright post with a cross-post turning upon a pin.
English Villages|P. H. Ditchfield

They always kept up the sport of tilting at the Quintain in the water.
London|Walter Besant

British Dictionary definitions for quintain

quintain

/ (ˈkwɪntɪn) /

noun (esp in medieval Europe)

a post or target set up for tilting exercises for mounted knights or foot soldiers

the exercise of tilting at such a target

Word Origin for quintain

C14: from Old French quintaine, from Latin: street in a Roman camp between the fifth and sixth maniples, from quintus fifth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quintain

quintain

"target for tilting and jousting practice," c.1400 (in Anglo-Latin from mid-13c.), from Old French quintaine or directly from Medieval Latin quintana; perhaps from Latin quintana "of the fifth" (see quinque-), which as a noun meant "the business part of a camp," on the supposition that this was where military exercises were done [OED].