portcullis
/pɔɹtˈkʌl.ɪs/noun, verb
portcullis is spelled P-O-R-T-C-U-L-L-I-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, portcullis means “A gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of portcullis is portcullises or portcullisses; Wiktionary also lists portculli (rare), portscullis (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in portcullis?
| Letters | 10: P-O-R-T-C-U-L-L-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 78,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is portcullis?
Portcullis appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce portcullis?
- UK /pɔːtˈkʌl.ɪs/
- US /pɔɹtˈkʌl.ɪs/
Portcullis has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-portcullis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of portcullis
- portcullises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- portcullisses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- portculli plural, rare
- portscullis plural, rare
- portculis rare
- portecullis rare
- porte-cullis rare
- portcullising participle, present
- portcullissing participle, present
- portcullised participle, past
- portcullissed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does portcullis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc.
- 2
An old English coin from the reign of Elizabeth I, minted for the use of the East India Company, and bearing the picture of a portcullis on the reverse.
verb
- 1
To obstruct with, or as with, a portcullis; to shut; to bar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Portcullis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense gate in the form of a grating:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | herse |
| German | Fallgatter |
| Portuguese | grade levadiça, rastrilho |
| Spanish | rastrillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does portcullis come from?
From Middle English portcolyse, from Old French porte colëice, from porte (“door”) + feminine of colëiz (“sliding”), ultimately from Latin colāre.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).