Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A post or an object mounted on a post, used as a target in tilting exercises.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A figure or other object to be tilted at. It was constructed in various ways. A common form in England consisted of an upright post, on the top of which was a horizontal bar turning on a pivot; to one end of this a sandbag was attached, to the other a broad board: and it was a trial of skill to strike or tilt at the broad end with a lance, and pass on before the bag of sand could whirl round and strike the tilter on the back.
- n. The game or exercise of tilting at the quintain.
- n. Same as cinquain, 2.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An object to be tilted at; -- called also
quintel .
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman quintine, quinteine, Middle French quintaine, probably from Latin quīntāna ("street separating fifth and sixth maniples in a Roman camp"), feminine form of quīntānus ("pertaining to the fifth"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English quintaine, from Old French, probably from Latin quīntāna (via), fifth (street in a Roman camp, supposedly used for military exercises), from quīntus, fifth; see penkwe in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It is the custom to hoist married men, who are not blest with children, on the quintain, which is made to revolve rapidly.”
“Then when the carols were ended, the ladies and maidens sat down on the green grass and fresh flowers, and the squires set up a game of tilting called quintain upon the meadows and played till even-song; and then Merlin came to the damsel and asked if he had done what he promised for her.”
“ThQ catching at the apple and, at lead, puts one in mind of the ancient of the quintain, which is now almoft forgot - nd of which a defcription may be found in s Survey of London.”
“The four pages were in the tilt yard, where there stood a wooden figure, called a "quintain," which turned round upon an axis, and held a wooden sword in one hand and a buckler in the other.”
The Rival Heirs; being the Third and Last Chronicle of Aescendune
“He was a sturdy boy; his right forearm noticeably muscled, probably from long work with the quintain and wooden sword.”
“As I watched Sir William Parr repeatedly pluck the ring from the post and outshine every other competitor at the quintain, too, I could not help but imagine him in that role.”
““I will take especial care, both of my person and your token,” Will promised, and rode not to the quintain but into the lists to run at the ring.”
“For practice, some tilted at the quintain, a stuffed figure on a revolving bar.”
““More than a hand will be chilled if you are unseated by the quintain.””
“So I sit with little Henry when he takes his lessons from the tutor that Jasper has employed, I ride with him in the morning, I watch him as he jousts at the little quintain that Jasper had built for him in the field behind the stables.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quintain’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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phrontistery - q
from phrontistery.info
qanat, qasida, qat, qigong, qintar, qiviut, qoph, qua, quab, quackle, quacksalver, quad and 227 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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quin-
five; multiple of five
quinary, quintuplet, quintuplets, quincentennial, quinquagenarian, quindecemvirate, quinquagesimal, quinquevalent, quintilateral, quintile, quinella, quincunx and 13 more...
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Castles and Keeps
Shamelessly ripped off from this site and others (to be named hereinafter). (Fair warning: for my own edification, I may add definitions/comments from the site, but you might want to just go there ...
abutment, adulterine, allure, angle-spur, apse, arbalest, arbalestier, arbalist, arcade, arch, armoury, arrow slit and 410 more...
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Turning and Twisting Tours
words in the nature of double spirals
swift, swerve, swirl, swivel, swarm, swag, swank, swoop, swinge, swarf, spire, esparto and 361 more...
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Rime Riche
being words relating to the art of poetry
enjambment, prosody, meter, rhyme, foot, scansion, iamb, hexameter, pentameter, caesura, inversion, headless and 45 more...
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Unlikely or unbeloved
no more.
abiotic, adoxography, xenodocheionology, xyloid, xanthochroid, zoanthropy, zoic, zomotherapy, wayzgoose, vagile, vacuity, vaginate and 6 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quintain.
chained_bear A target for jousting practice. Aug 26, 2008