ventail
/ˈvɛn.teɪl/ noun
Forms ventails ventaile ventaille ventayle
- noun (historical) Synonym of aventail (“mail curtain or flap, on a helmet or a mail coif, that protects the lower face and neck”).
- noun (historical) The movable front part of a medieval helmet, originally including the visor but later specifically the separate lower section.
- noun (historical, rare) A vent or breathing-hole in a medieval helmet, for the admission of air.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English ventaile (“mail over lower face and neck; lower front piece of helmet; air hole in helmet”), from Old French ventaille (“lower opening in helmet for air”). Related to aventail.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That part of a helmet which is intended for the admission of air, --sometimes in the visor. Spenser.
Etymology [OF. ventaille, F. ventail. See Ventilate, and cf. Aventail.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ventail”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details