quintain

From Anglo-Norman quintaine, 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”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwɪntɪn/
• Hyphenation: quin‧tain

quintain (plural quintains)

1. (now historical) An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice. [from 15th c.]
   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin 2012, p. 285:

     In the tiltyard, his companions felt the juddering impact of his sword-blows and saw the muscled precision of his archery and his tilting at the quintain.

• quintile
• quintuplicate