postern
Americannoun
-
a back door or gate.
-
a private entrance or any entrance other than the main one.
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of postern
1250–1300; Middle English posterne < Old French, variant of posterle < Late Latin posterula, diminutive of postera back door, noun use of feminine of posterus coming behind. See posterior, -ule
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.
Upon being prompted, however, he went on: "Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest."
From Time Magazine Archive
But most of them opened their postern gates and let Mr. Jones come in with the money he was determined to inject into them.
From Time Magazine Archive
He saw three gates during his wanderings—the main entrance with its gatehouse, a postern by the kennels, and a garden gate hidden behind a tangle of pale ivy.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
This postern was the least of Harrenhal's gates, a narrow door of stout oak studded with iron nails, set in an angle of the wall beneath a defensive tower.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
There was a postern gate to the north, and Gerren discovered a trap under the straw in the old wooden bam, leading to a narrow, winding tunnel.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
