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quintain

 - 2 dictionary results

quin⋅tain

  [kwin-tn]
Use quintain in a Sentence
–noun
1. 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.
2. the sport of tilting at a quintain.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME quyntain object for tilting at < MF quintaine or ML quintāna, of obscure orig.; the alleged connection with L quīntāna “market place in a military camp” is dubious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To quintain
quin·tain   (kwĭn'tən)   
n.  A post or an object mounted on a post, used as a target in tilting exercises.

[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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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