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stanchion

[stan-shuh n]
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noun
  1. an upright bar, beam, post, or support, as in a window, stall, ship, etc.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with stanchions.
  2. to secure by or to a stanchion or stanchions.
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Origin of stanchion

1375–1425; late Middle English stanchon < Old French estanchon, equivalent to estanche (variant of estance, probably < Vulgar Latin *stantia, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns), present participle of stāre to stand + -ia -y3) + -on noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stanchions

Historical Examples

  • Begin by inserting the stanchions in the sockets in the lower plane.

    Flying Machines

    W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell

  • Over the whole there was a light roof, supported on stanchions.

    Heart of Darkness

    Joseph Conrad

  • "Davits an' stanchions, men—never mind the rail," said the boatswain.

    The Wreck of the Titan

    Morgan Robertson

  • The beam upon which the stanchions of the beak-head bulk-head stand.

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

  • We clung for our lives to ropes, stanchions, and ring-bolts.

    Peter Trawl

    W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for stanchions

stanchion

noun
  1. any vertical pole, rod, etc, used as a support
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verb
  1. (tr) to provide or support with a stanchion or stanchions
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French estanchon, from estance, from Vulgar Latin stantia (unattested) a standing, from Latin stāre to stand
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 stanchions

stanchion

n.

mid-14c., from Old French estanchon "prop, brace, support" (French étançon), probably from estant "upright," from present participle of ester "be upright, stand," from Latin stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper